Cooper picked up their third victory in a row Wednesday night over Campbell County. Photo provided by Charles Bolton

What you need to know

  • Cooper freshman standout Lyna Ewell tied the game on a penalty kick late in the first half.
  • Senior Gracie Iles delivered the game-winner early in the second half off an assist from Jayden Herald.
  • Goalkeeper Amanda Collins anchored the defense with nine saves to preserve the lead.
  • Campbell County jumped ahead early with a goal from Caitlin Crowley less than 10 minutes into the match.
  • Played shorthanded without leading scorer Ryan Weghorn and adjusted roles across the lineup.

Cooper’s girls soccer team isn’t used to trailing this season, but they are certainly used to winning.

Wednesday night in Union the Lady Jaguars fell behind early but battled back to claim a 2-1 victory over Campbell County, marking their third straight win.

The game began in Campbell County’s favor, as Caitlin Crowley put the Lady Camels ahead less than 10 minutes into the match. For a brief moment, Cooper found itself in unfamiliar territory. Coming into the match, the Lady Jaguars had trailed just once during their previous four games, a 1-0 loss to Notre Dame. It was just the second goal they had given up all season.

For a team with nine seniors, the Lady Jags have the right mix of experience and talent to handle such situations.

“I’ve been looking forward to this season,” Cooper head coach Scott Hughes said. “I knew that I had a really good group of seniors coming in and a strong group of underclassmen supporting them. With that, there’s a lot of composure and they don’t really panic. I felt we could’ve been down more than that and we were lucky we weren’t.”

Contributions from both youth and experience proved crucial. Freshman Lyna Ewell, the team’s leading scorer with five goals this season, calmly converted a penalty kick late in the first half, tying the match. Early in the second half, senior Gracie Iles gave Cooper the lead with an assist from fellow senior Jayden Herald. Senior goalkeeper Amanda Collins also played a key role, making nine saves to secure the win.

Lyna Ewell leads the team with five goals on the season. Photo provided by Charles Bolton

Part of Cooper’s success this season has been the team’s depth and diversity on offense. Rather than relying on a single star player, the Lady Jaguars attack from multiple angles and involve several contributors, a strategy that has allowed them to outscore opponents 21-2 through five games.

“We’re not locking in on one particular player to carry the load, and it’s paid dividends,” Hughes said. “The past few years we’ve had really great single-handed goal scorers and knew coming in that we didn’t have that, but instead we would have a lot of diversity, and they’ve been able to deliver.”

Campbell County, meanwhile, faced its own challenges. Leading scorer Ryan Weghorn was out due to injury, and several other players were limited or had to play out of position. Despite the setback, the Lady Camels controlled much of the early play and continued to pressure Cooper throughout the match. With Cooper dropping numbers into the defensive box, Campbell County adjusted by taking longer shots rather than attempting to break through one-on-one.

“I felt like before we went down a player, we were totally dominating play,” Lady Camel head coach Dave Morris said. “We were putting all the pressure on, and then we gave up the PK. I was still proud of the team. We fought the entire time.”

Falling to 2-3, Campbell County will face Newport Central Catholic at home on Monday at 8 p.m. Cooper will also return to action that night, hosting Lafayette at 7:30 p.m.. The Lady Jags improved to 4-1, their most wins through the first five games since 2022.

Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton: