Lady Panthers win ‘Battle’ and region
Avoiding the McIntosh defense, a Lady Panther kicks the ball down the field. In the 3-2 win, the Lady Panthers defeated their 11th-straight region opponent and captured the region championship.
April 21, 2016
The soldiers and first responders were not the only people being celebrated Friday night in the Battle of the Troops. On April 15, the Lady Panthers defeated the McIntosh Chiefs 3-2 in a rivalry game, taking the title of region soccer champions.
The girls continued their winning streak with a 3-0 victory against Walton on Tuesday. This victory improved their record to 15-2-0 overall, but the win over McIntosh continued their perfect season in the region.
The Battle of the Bubble always draws a large crowd. The Lady Panthers’ 3-2 victory over McIntosh even caught the attention of Starr’s Mill alumna and U.S.A. Women’s World Cup Champion Kelley O’Hara.
“The whole game was super aggressive on both ends,” senior Dylan Patterson said. “It kept the game interesting and helped us keep our intensity up throughout the game.”
As the game began, pressure was on the keepers with several goal opportunities but the Lady Panthers were triumphant and scored the first goal. In the 12th minute, junior Ashton Nowicki headed the ball past the goalie off of a corner kick by senior Lauren Yoss.
Within the next minute, the Lady Panthers added to their lead. After McIntosh kicked the ball back into play on a goal kick, the Lady Panthers gained possession. Senior forward Riley Clark scored unassisted on the attack.
“After we scored two goals we stepped back,” senior Leslie Logan said, “and let them take advantage and score two themselves.”
The Mill let down its guard with the two goal lead, allowing McIntosh to score their first goal in the 18th minute. The Lady Panthers and the Chiefs fought hard with even amounts of possessions, but McIntosh scored the second goal in the 29th minute to tie the game going into halftime.
A Lady Panther steps into the pass kicked her way. The victory in the annual rivalry game against McIntosh helped the Lady Panthers secure the No. 1 seed in the region as they prepare to defend last year’s state championship. “Having the number one seed is huge,” girls soccer coach John Bowen said. “We get to play at home on our field in front of our fans.”
“At halftime we had to talk about taking up the intensity,” Yoss said. “We needed to score another goal and not let McIntosh take the victory.”
Throughout the second half, both teams fought aggressively and put pressure on each goalie. Senior keeper Ashlyn Walloch had multiple shots kicked her way and only allowed two goals throughout the half.
In the 15th minute of the second half, Clark gave Panther fans one more reason to cheer, scoring the team’s third goal off of a pass from Logan. It would eventually be the game-winning goal as Walloch blocked multiple shots headed her way and did not allow a single goal the entire second half.
“We have a pattern in our season of getting comfortable after scoring goals,” Clark said. “But tonight we broke that pattern by picking it back up.”
The Lady Panthers came out of the game as victors and region champions, but the battle is far from over with the state playoffs fast approaching.
They will close out the regular season tonight at home against Stockbridge. Following the senior night festivities, the game will begin at 7:55 p.m.
Winning the region championship guarantees the Lady Panthers home games in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The team continues its pursuit of a second consecutive state championship on April 26 at 5 p.m. in a match against Harris County.
