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Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

LexCath, West Jess girls in soccer finals

The stage is set for a championship rematch in the 14th Region girls soccer finals Wednesday.

Last week, fifth-ranked Lexington Catholic ground out a 1-0 victory over No. 6 West Jessamine to lock up the 27th District crown. After semifinal wins by the Lady Knights and Lady Colts in Richmond Monday, they'll go at it again for regional honors.

Lexington Catholic 6, Madison Central 1: The Lady Knights managed just a 1-0 lead against the Lady Indians' defense going into the locker room at halftime.

"Madison Central really took us out of our game in the first half," said Lexington Catholic Coach Terry Quigley. "The speed of play was one of our main concerns at halftime. We began the game very sluggish."

Quigley implored his team to move better without the ball and quicken its pace. Sophomore mid-fielder/forward Kelly O'Brien, who scored the game-winning goal in the district title game against West Jessamine, did just that. After Madison Central made it 2-1, O'Brien scored twice less than a minute apart to give the Knights a 4-1 lead.

West Jessamine 5, Model 1: Five players scored for the Lady Colts.

"We were just balanced throughout," said West Jessamine assistant coach Lewis Hale. "We moved the ball well and dominated possession."

The Lady Colts fired 30 shots on goal while holding the Falcons to just five. Hale expects no such disparity against the Lady Knights in the championship game.

"The four girls across the back are a wall," he said of Lexington Catholic's defenders. "We've got to find ways to get shots. In two games against them this year, we've put up two goals."

Hale said the Colts will rely heavily on junior midfielder Arin Gilliland in the rematch. Gilliland, who was an All-State midfielder last year, scored one goal for the Colts and assisted on two others in the victory over Model.