Front row, from left, Keaton Knechtly, Aubree Lewis, Josephine James, Madison Wagner and Cecillee Dickens; Middle row, from left, Emma Arciga, Ellie McCarty, Mnenetha Hoop, Kathleen Hendrix, Hallie Hopkins and Alaina Stevenson; Back row, from left, Coaches Sam James, Dustin Dickens and Ethan McCarty. (Photo provided)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
A great season for the West Union 8Un girls SAY soccer team came to a close last week after a trip to the state tournament.
According to information provided by Coach Ethan McCarty, the “little” Lady Dragons finished their regular season with a record of 6-2-1, scoring 33 goals and only allowing 14.
The West Union girls tied for fourth in the regular season and entered Pool C of their tournament, where they played Fayetteville and were 3-1 winners. They followed that up with a 10-0 win over Whiteoak 2 and then matched up with Georgetown, who had beaten West Union 4-0 in the regular season.
This time around went differently, however, as the Lady Dragons battled Georgetown to a 0-0 tie at the end of overtime and then won the exciting game 5-3 on penalty kicks, moving them to the tournament semifinals. In the semifinal West Union defeated Hillsboro 1 by a final score of 3-0.
On to the tournament finals, where the Lady Dragons battled Leesburg, a team that in the regular season had scored 52 goals and given up two. West Union tied them 0-0 all the way through overtime and then back into penalty kicks, where Leesburg pulled out a 4-2 win, leaving the Lady Dragons as the tournament runner-up, but qualifying for the SAY state tourney.
In state competition, West Union had the following results:
• November 9 – West Union 2, NW Cincy 0
• November 10 – West Union defeated Say North 1B 1-0 (Advanced to the Elite 8)
• November 16 – West Union defeated NW Cincy 1, 1-0. Aubree Lewis scored the only goal with three minutes left in overtime.
• November 17 – The Lady Dragons lost 3-0 to the eventual tournament champions WCSA 1A.
• November 17 – West Union lost in the 3rd/4th place game to WCSA 2A, 1-0.
The Defender congratulates these future Lady Dragons for an outstanding season!
