Despite poor performance, Lady Panthers move to Sweet Sixteen
Lady Panther dribbles the ball while a Wildcat defender falls close behind her. The Mill defeated Locust Grove 3-0 in the first round of state playoffs. The game was slow in the first half, but after halftime, the team scored two goals in the first 10 minutes.
April 27, 2018
In the first round of state playoffs, the Mill faced and defeated the No. 3 seed from Region 4-AAAAA, Locust Grove. The Lady Panthers played down the intensity of the Wildcats, and slowly made offensive runs and managed to score three goals, shutting Locust Grove out 3-0.
Lady Panther kicks the ball down the field while being chased by a defender. The Panthers were not challenged throughout the game, and were able to drop their intensity below the levels seen earlier in the season. In the Battle of the Bubble, the Mill pushed the Chiefs and were able to keep the score tied at one against a more aggressive team. However, the team failed to show that same level of aggression.
Freshmen Ali Rumpel and Sarah Evans, and senior Macey Voorhies each scored for Starr’s Mill. The normally aggressive Panther offense was almost non-existent against the slower-paced Wildcats.
“When there’s no pressure on us or we don’t push the tempo, we don’t play the one and two touch. We have so much time that we’re looking at this option and changing our mind and looking at that option and changing our mind,” head coach John Bowen said. “We’re just mentally and physically tired and exhausted, and it doesn’t look like we can play.”
Starr’s Mill started the game with instant offensive runs that prevented Locust Grove from having any offensive push until the 16th minute. However, during the Panther offensive runs, Voorhies scored the first goal in the 8th minute from within the box, shooting it past the keeper.
The rest of the first half was more offensive runs for the Mill that did not result in more goals. The majority of the attempts at goal were stopped by the Wildcat keeper. The score going into halftime was 1-0 with Starr’s Mill in the lead.
“I thought the game got the result we wanted,” senior Makria Walton said. “But it definitely wasn’t at the level that we can be or want to be at.”
The second half was more eventful with the Mill scoring two times in the first 10 minutes. Evans scored the second goal for the Lady Panthers off of a free kick in the 45th minute. This goal was followed by Rumpel scoring the third and final goal for Starr’s Mill two minutes later.
Lady Panther boots the ball down the field while yelling to communicate with her teammates. Starr’s Mill has a young team this season, and has two freshmen as the number one and two leading scorers. The upperclassmen of the team have attempted to push the younger players to keep their focus or the entire game.
The Wildcats attempted to make offensive runs throughout the rest of the half. Both teams were stopped from scoring and the game ended with a 3-0 victory for the Lady Panthers.
“I definitely think that our intensity was a little off. Our momentum could’ve been better,” senior Kirsten Oates said. “But I think progressively throughout the game we stepped it up, but it is definitely not where we can be.”
The next day, the boys faced Woodland Stockbridge the No. 4 seed out of Region 4-AAAAA. The boys also moved into the Sweet Sixteen with a 3-0 win.
The No. 2 seed Lady Panthers advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the GHSA state playoffs and will face Veterans High School, the No. 1 seed from Region 1-AAAAA. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 1 at Veterans.
