Girls’ soccer: Tates Creek beats Lexington Christian in 43rd District opener

Tates Creek overcame a stingy Lexington Christian backline, scoring two second-half goals to earn a 2-0 win in the 43^rd District opener for both teams on Wednesday.

Carsyn Prigge, a freshman, put a free kick into the body of LCA keeper Grace Henry. It bounced over into the goal to give the Commodores a 1-0 lead in the 41^st minute right out of halftime. Shae Robertson crossed over a couple of Eagles for a score off a straight-on shot from about 20 yards out with six minutes to play in the game.

Tates Creek avenged a 2-1 overtime loss at LCA last season. Coach Ally Tucker said that loss wasn’t on the girls’ minds.

“We’re just focused on (this year’s) district games, they’re the ones that mean the most” Tucker said. “We had a good game plan and the girls followed it to a tee. LCA is a phenomenal opponent. They always make it tough.”

Part of that plan has involved giving more minutes to freshmen and sophomores who, under better circumstances, might have seen playing time increased gradually over the season. Injuries to a couple of seniors have forced them into bigger roles in 2016.

“Usually there’s a little bit of a grace period for younger players but they’re like seasoned veterans at this point,” Tucker said. “Our seniors have done a great job of bringing them along and making sure that they feel confident in those moments.”

Jenna Strange, a cross country and track star, is one of the sophomores who’s carved out a varsity role this season.

“She started off as a swing player and she keeps doing more and more to get herself on the field,” Tucker said. “ … When you’ve got speed that can do a lot of good stuff for you.”

Haley Poynter, a senior who’s committed to Belmont, said it’s been exciting to transition from a promising up-and-comer to someone expected to be a model for younger girls in the program.

“They come in so ready to go and it’s awesome because they have such good spirit and energy,” Poynter said.

Tates Creek (5-3-1) snapped a three-game winless streak in which they dropped games to Henry Clay and Henderson County by one goal. It played Owensboro Catholic to a nil-nil tie on Saturday.

Lexington Christian (6-2) had won six straight after a season-opening loss to West Jessamine, a preseason favorite in the 12^th Region. The Eagles won the Purples Classic in Bowling Green over the weekend with wins over Graves County, McCracken County and South Warren – all by 3-1 scores.

LCA dominated the 11^th Region All “A” Classic in late August, outscoring its opponents 27-1 over three games. It’ll host Danville in a sectional as part of the statewide All “A” Classic on Sept. 15.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Girls’ soccer: Tates Creek beats Lexington Christian in 43rd District opener."