Soccer works in mysterious ways sometimes.
It was evident Monday night in Union, Cooper scoring 13 seconds into their game with Beechwood in the girls 9th Region soccer tournament quarterfinals, which also happened to be the final score.
The host Jaguars held on for a 1-0 victory over the Tigers, just the second region tournament win in program history.
“The hope would be that would set the tone a long period of time,” said Scott Hughes, Cooper head coach. “I felt that we still had some really good chances the first five minutes after that. We were weary coming in how fast they are in the midfield, how connected. They move the ball well. Our hope was to keep them on the defensive.”
Junior Kamdyn Hamilton scored another clutch goal for the Jaguars (13-6-2) off an assist from McKayla Harsley after Cooper opened the game with the ball, booted it up the field to the right then into the attacking box. Beechwood could not clear it and Hamilton put it in for her eighth goal of the season.
“It was a good way to start the game. It gave us a lot of momentum,” Hamilton said. “After we got that goal, we did fall back on defense more so that we could stay in front. It wasn’t our best game. But we worked as hard as we could to make sure we got to the next round.”
Beechwood (10-9-2) outshot Cooper 9-7, putting four more shots on frame. But Cooper senior goalkeeper Allie Ames came through with seven saves, including a diving save when Beechwood junior Grace Cottengim booted in a free kick.
“The first thing that goes through my head is I’d better catch this ball or (Cooper assistant coach) Mel (Stewart) is going to yell at me,” Ames said. “If I bobble it, I’m just making sure I get on the ball and pinning it to the ground so that it doesn’t have a way to get out.”
Goalkeeper Brooke Fowee had two saves for the Tigers, including a sliding save three minutes into the game.
Hughes continuously told the Jaguars to disrupt things in the middle, possess it and play the ball wide going up-field. A missed opportunity came with 31:49 left, a header going wide right.
Both teams had their fair share of free kicks. Cooper had eight fouls to seven for Beechwood.
“Defensively, I felt that we were outstanding,” Hughes said. “Our back line as young as they are did a really good job of just staying organized, defending on the sideline, very technical with their one-on-one defense.”
Beechwood completed its first season under head coach Guima Camil. The Tigers graduate five seniors in Fowee, Maddy Brauch, Harper Birkemeier, Allison Goodwin and Katie Kocan.
Camil could not be on site during the game as the result of serving a three-game suspension after receiving a red card in the regular season finale against Oldham County. But he came by after the whistle blew to talk to the team.
“That’s what I was just telling the girls,” Camil said. “With my suspension, things were a little awkward I guess to not have the coaching side as it normally would be. But honestly, I have no doubt (the assistant coaches) did a good job or even better than if I had been there. At the end, the girls have to take care of business. That’s how it is in sports. It could have gone either way.”
While Cooper made its third appearance in program history in the region tournament, Beechwood has been in it eight times since starting its first varsity season in 2009. While the Tigers are still seeking the first region tournament win in school history, this marked the closest Beechwood has come to it after giving up at least two goals in the other seven region quarterfinal games.
Cooper advances to take on Dixie Heights, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the region semifinals at Notre Dame. Dixie Heights beat visiting Cooper, 2-0 on Aug. 16.