Penalty shootout no problem for battle-tested West Jessamine as it joins Lexington Catholic in girls’ state soccer finals

It hasn’t been an easy road for West Jessamine during this postseason, having faced No. 7 Boyle County to escape Region 12 and then tackling No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 and defending state champion Sacred Heart to make it to Wednesday night’s KHSAA girls’ soccer state semifinals.

So it should be expected that a scoreless game through 80 minutes and two overtimes yielded a penalty kick shootout against No. 9 Simon Kenton, the 8^th Region champ. After besting the Pioneers, 4-3 on penalties, senior forward Eva Mitchell said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s been really tough, but honestly the harder teams we play, the better the win,” said Mitchell, who is committed to play for Kentucky next year. “I’m so proud of my team.”

Colts junior Delany Long took two short strides and placed her PK in the lower right corner of the goal to advance West Jessamine to Saturday night’s final against Lexington Catholic. LexCath defeated Owensboro Catholic 2-1 in the earlier semifinal Wednesday.

The Colts (25-2) were buoyed by two penalty misses by the Pioneers (23-4-1), including one from standout Xavier commitment Abigail Zoeller. Zoeller then put a practice bib on and alternated in goal with primary keeper Skylin Yates. The move was unusual, but seemed to pay off when West Jessamine’s Anna Lee sailed her PK over the bar for the Colts’ only miss in the best-of-five format. But Simon Kenton’s final kick by Yates also sailed over the bar, setting up Long’s game-winner.

After, West Jessamine Coach Kevin Wright couldn’t say enough about his keeper, freshman Anna Rexford.

“It was a total team effort, but I’ve got a 14-year-old goalkeeper, and she’s on the map,” Wright said. “They’re going to be getting in line for her. Two times against two top 10 teams and beat them on penalty kicks.”

Rexford faced a number of chances during regulation, including a leaping grab late in the second half off the left foot of Zoeller who launched from just outside the left corner of the 18-yard box. Toward the end of regulation, she got just enough of a hot shot from the top of the box to allow her defender Long to knock the bounding ball away from the goal line.

“Thirteen (Zoeller) is a great player,” Rexford said. “My back line has my back so much, and I’m just so thankful for them.”

As for the penalty kicks, Rexford takes them in stride.

“The PKs, I just do the best I can,” she said. “The scorers should score. I’m just there to come up with a save if I can.”

This is West Jessamine’s first trip to the finals.

“Every game, somebody steps up, steps up, steps up,” Wright said. “It’s just great for our school. … It’s unbelievable for our whole school community. I’m so happy. It’s been an awesome run, but we’ve got one more. So, we’re not done yet.”

Lexington Catholic wins 2-1

In a season filled with doubt and some tough early losses, Lexington Catholic earned a return trip to the KHSAA Girls Soccer State championship with a 2-1 win over Owensboro Catholic on Wednesday night thanks to a little luck and a lot of defense in the semifinals at Bryan Station.

Knights senior midfielder Dominique Morris sent a back-heel flick across the face of goal that caught senior Aces defender Lauren Goodwin between an attempt to chest it down or kick it out. It instead bounced off her knee and into the goal to give the Knights a 2-1 edge 10 minutes into the second half.

“I feel sorry for the girl, but we were putting pressure on them,” Lexington Catholic Coach Terry Quigley said. “(With) own goals, the last person that touches it is always on the other team, but there’s a reason why. The ball’s so close to the goal that any little mistake or mis-hit goes in. I feel sorry that the girl probably blames herself, but we were putting pressure on them at that time.”

Lexington Catholic then spent much of the rest of the game under constant pressure from the Aces, but the Knights’ senior-laden back line repeatedly turned away Owensboro Catholic.

Perhaps the Aces’ best chance to get back into the game came with about 10 minutes left. Leading scorer and Western Kentucky commit Ambere Barnett broke loose down the right flank and crossed a ball to a teammate whose shot was deflected high by Knights keeper Olivia Williams. The ball looped toward the goal for what looked to be a sure equalizer, but senior defender Caroline Hourigan cleared it off the line at the last instant.

Lexington Catholic had more possession in the first half, but did not look like the more dangerous team. The Lady Aces forwards were able to turn over Lady Knights defenders a few times deep in their own half. And when LexCath lost the ball on its attacks, Owensboro Catholic defenders looked to play deep balls to Barnett and Holly Logsdon on a full sprint counterattack.

“Honestly, second half, we just decided we were making it too hard on ourselves,” senior midfielder Sarah Jane McCarty said. “I think once we settled down and really got into our groove, that’s when we were successful.”

It was on one of those turnovers that Barnett earned a corner kick three minutes into the game that set up the Aces’ first goal. A short corner passing sequence saw Logsdon, a junior midfielder, lift a ball into the center of the box which bounced to the foot of freshman defender Kaylee Morris. She popped it in from about 7 yards.

LexCath answered on its own corner kick late in the half as Kennedy Tranter’s long ball found the head of senior defender Austin Wahle on the far post, who popped it forward to senior defender Cassie Corbett. Corbett headed a looping shot over the keeper and into the left corner of the goal to even the score 1-1 with 12 minutes left in the half.

Lexington Catholic (18-8-2) moves on to face West Jessamine. Owensboro Catholic, the 3rd Region champion, finished its season 23-4-1.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Penalty shootout no problem for battle-tested West Jessamine as it joins Lexington Catholic in girls’ state soccer finals."