For the first time since 2018, Scott’s girls soccer team is moving on in the 10th Region tournament.
The Eagles earned their 10th Region semifinals spot by knocking off George Rogers Clark, 2-1 in Monday’s quarterfinals at Montgomery County’s Cunningham Field. They’ll meet Harrison County in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Scott had not been to the semifinals since falling to GRC in the 2018 finals. First-year coach Corey Nichols was feeling blessed.
“It’s a great group of girls,” Nichols said. “I was blessed, this being my first year coaching varsity that I get to be with a group like this. We knew (Scott) had talent for years.”
What was more, Scott (9-5-3) adjusted GRC’s more physical style. Nichols said it’s a lot different than what Ninth Region teams play.
“That’s definitely a regional thing,” Nichols said. “We’re used to playing all the Ninth Region teams where it’s more tactical soccer, more technical stuff. And then you come down here, teams rely on their physicality more. No disrespect to any of the teams here, but I think the physicality, they use that sometimes for a lack of skill sometimes. (GRC) was definitely a skill team.”
GRC coach Marc Miller didn’t think physicality was a factor.
“When we started getting physical, we started getting tired,” Miller said. “So then we start leaning, pushing. Moving the ball is what I like to do.”
Khloe Berry opened the scoring in the fifth minute when she converted Reece Mechlin’s pass – which made up for Mechlin’s corner kick being deflected.
“We had a corner kick, but it got deflected, and got a second chance, and I was just in the right spot,” Berry said.
Nichols screamed “Shoot the ball!” with just a few seconds left in the first – just in time for Emma Carl taking Anne Bowling’s pass and making the score 2-0.
They kept telling me to shoot,” Carl said. “I had seen I had three seconds, so I took one more touch.”
After GRC’s (9-10-2) Emma Cecil scored in the 46th minute, the Cardinals kept much of the game in Scott’s defensive third of the pitch.
“We had moments where we weren’t very connected defensively,” Nichols said. “It’s definitely a concern … The communication wasn’t great at times for our defense and for our midfielders. We had some breakdowns. I think we got the 2-0 lead, we got comfortable, and it backfired on us.”
GRC’s strategy in the last 20 minutes was to find space in the middle of the field.
“We were definitely losing them in the middle,” Nichols said. “We were ball-watching; they would take it down into the wide channels, and we’d watch ‘em and chase with ‘em. We weren’t watching the girls making runs in, and they had players wide open in the middle.”
Nichols planned an all-nighter of watching Harrison County video. The Eagles, meanwhile have the night off.
“Our girls have Homecoming this weekend,” he said. “We’re going to get together at one of the mom’s houses, and we’re gonna decorate our float.”
Bishop Brossart 8, Mason County 0
The defending champion Lady ‘Stangs got three goals from Tessa Hafer, two each from Rylee Fuller and Kylie Smith and one from Olivia McDermott.
Yet Brossart coach Andy Smith was not pleased.
“I didn’t see a lot that I liked, to be quite honest,” he said. “I know that goes against what the score line is, but this year we’ve had a tendency of coming out too slow in the first half and not playing with the intensity that we need to.”
Brossart meets Montgomery County in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
