On to district finals: Lady Jets, Lady Panthers go back to OT in district tourney rematch

Oct. 13—Cumberland County High School's Lady Jets soccer team faces Livingston Thursday night in the District 6 championship after overcoming a second overtime challenge by cross-town district rival the Stone Memorial High School Lady Panthers on Tuesday.

After almost 100 minutes of play, CCHS's Emily Farley hit the winning goal with three minutes left in the second overtime. The win advances CCHS to the district finals against Livingston Academy and ensures them a spot in the regional tournament next week.

"I was very proud of how our team played," CCHS coach Cub Whitson said. "Both teams were very motivated to win and worked hard, so for us to come out on top was great."

SMHS Coach Tyler Rutherford said, "CCHS has a great soccer team. We played 100 minutes of the best soccer we have played all season and, unfortunately, we came up a little short."

SMHS vs White County

The Lady Panthers started their district tournament play on Monday, hosting the White County Lady Warriors. SMHS put 5 goals on the board and kept White County from scoring through 80 minutes of play.

"I was thrilled with our performance against White County," Rutherford said. "Their goal keeper made some phenomenal saves and their defense made us work for the goals we were able to get. We played a solid 80 minutes of soccer and were put together from the front to the back."

Lady Panther Emma Thompson was the first to score 8 minutes into the match. Haley Suggs added a second goal at 19 minutes, with Peyton McGinnis scoring in the 23rd minute.

In the second half, Suggs added a second goal at 63 minutes, and Casey Hepburn recorded her first career goal at the 73-minute mark.

The Lady Panthers had 32 shots on goal, with White County's keeper working overtime to keep the score down. The Lady Panthers blocked one shot on goal during the contest.

SMHS vs. CCHS

The SMHS-CCHS match came just two weeks after the two teams met in the regular season and battled to an overtime finish. CCHS won that game 2-1 with about 88 minutes.

SMHS struck first on Tuesday. Lilly Boston scored at the 29-minute mark. Boston holds the all-time scoring record for SMHS with 68 career goals.

"Stone went up 1-0 on us, and the girls didn't get down on themselves but battled back and made good things happen," Whitson said.

Mariana Alva scored about halfway through the first half off an assist from Molly Neal, tying the game.

Rutherford said SMHS changed up some things in the second half, moving Suggs to defense.

"I felt like our back line limited the opportunities that CCHS had. Lilly [Boston] had some awesome shots and led the way up front, and we had some solid play in the midfield all the way across."

"Stone did a great job of limiting our chances," Whitson said. "For Emily Farley to step up and hit the game-winning goal was huge."

The keepers were kept busy during the game. Rutherford reported CCHS had four shots on goal, with two saves.

Whitson said CCHS' keeper Jaci Brannon "had a great game in goal. She made some big plays that kept us going."

Next up: Livingston Academy

The win advances CCHS to the district finals against Livingston Academy, which is undefeated in region play.

"They are a great team with lots of speed and talent," Whitson said. "We'll hopefully be able to slow them down a bit."

"Getting through to the regional tournament is a big deal for us, especially this season with the district competition being so tight," he added.

The game begins at 6 p.m.

The game will determine if CCHS will host Kingston Oct. 18 for the regional semifinals or travel to Clinton to face Anderson County.

Whitson feels his team can compete well with either region foe, but first, "We'll try to handle business with Livingston," he said.

Season ends

The loss brought the SMHS Lady Panthers season to a close. The team finished the regular season 6-5-1 overall and 4-3 in the district.

"I'm proud of the way the girls worked hard all season," Rutherford said. "When we started things back in the summer, there were several unknowns, but we were able to push through some adversity this season as a team. We saw some solid leaders step up.

"We have some solid athletes and a good group of girls coming back next year. I think we have the soccer program at SMHS headed in a good direction. We have a solid coaching staff and school administration and awesome support on and off the field. I am looking forward to seeing what the future of SMHS girls soccer holds."

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.