Owensboro Catholic took down Daviess County 3-0 and Apollo edged past Owensboro 2-1 in district girls’ soccer action Tuesday night.
OCHS 3, DCHS 0
The first half of the game was a back-and-forth battle between DCHS and OCHS. The Lady Panthers held possession with high pressure and good passing from the offense, but the Lady Aces put on a strong defensive performance and prevented DCHS from scoring in the first half. DCHS had a few shots but could not stay on target.
The first goal for Catholic came from Allie Marston, who ran onto the ball in the box and shot across the goal into the top right corner. DCHS goalkeepers made a few key saves to keep the score just 1-0 at halftime.
In the second half, both teams were yet again neck and neck on offense and defense. Annie Helwig extended the lead to 2-0 with a shot from outside the box into the top left corner to beat the goalkeeper.
Ginny Young scored the final goal in the middle of the second half off a header from a corner crossed into the box by Jahaira Ward.
Catholic Head Coach Andy Hines said the first goal was a motivator and gave his team momentum for the rest of the match.
“Daviess County played well, especially in that first half,” he said. “After that first goal, we changed personnel up and had different people playing different positions to help get us better.”
DCHS Head Coach David Sandifer said a determining factor in the second half was OCHS playing more aggressively than the Lady Panthers.
“I think we were probably half a step slow,” he said. “We kind of went away from what we were trying to do with possession. We tended to play the ball a little bit more forward than we were ready to.”
AHS 2, OHS 1
The E-Gals beat the Lady Devils thanks to a pair of second-half goals.
OHS got on the board first with a goal from Sydney Lovett in the 23rd minute and the Lady Devils held a 1-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, AHS was able to produce more opportunities to earn their comeback. Kara Green scored from an assist by Avery Edge to tie the game 1-1, then Ella Hayden scored the winning goal off an assist by Alana Rone.
AHS Head Coach Zach Akin attributed their goals to a boost in tempo during the second half.
“We started off slow in the first half,” he said. “The second half we raised the tempo of the game and looked more dangerous in possession, which helped us create our chances for our goals tonight.”
OHS Head Coach Sarah Poole said there were several opportunities to score that could have leveled out the final score, but they failed to capitalize on them.
“We need to work on finishing for our next few games,” she said. “Our girls play with a lot of heart and are invested in each other and in the team.”
