FIRST DAY JITTERS: Boyle and Southwestern advance to semifinals

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Southwestern seniors Jessalyn Flynn (27), Ansley Mounce (18) and Destiny Sadler (3) celebrate after their 4-2 victory over East Jessamine in the 12th Region Girls' Soccer Tournament Quarterfinals on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.

SOMERSET - The 2024 12th Region Girls' Soccer Tournament kicked off on a chilly Monday evening at Clara Morrow Field, with two of the favorites in the field, Boyle County and Southwestern, beginning their journey towards a possible regional crown.

However, things were far from guaranteed the two teams could get to a rematch of a regular season defensive classic that finished tied 0-0, as both struggled at points against Pulaski County and East Jessamine respectively. At the end of the night though, both teams turned it on when needed to advance to Thursday evening's semifinal round.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Boyle County junior Addison Hazlett (2) dribbles on the attack past Pulaski County sophomore Madisyn Spurlock (4) during the Rebels' 8-0 victory over the Maroons on Monday in the first round of the 12th Region Tournament.

In game one, the Lady Rebels took on the runners-up from the 47th District in the Pulaski County Lady Maroons. Many expected this one to be a mercy rule type of game, but the defense of the Maroons clearly exceeded expectations.

Boyle went right on the attack as Maggie Burke had a shot that sailed wide of the goal in the third minute. Pulaski sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Phillippi had a tremendous game in net early on and had her first save within the same minute. Over the first 10 minutes Burke, Claire Combs and Addison Hazlett all had multiple clean looks at the net, although Phillippi was putting in overtime to keep things scoreless through the first 20 minutes of play.

The Rebels were going to score eventually however and they did just that in the 22nd minute, as Reagan Britt had a quick breakaway with her shot going past a diving Phillippi in net for a 1-0 Boyle County edge. They added to that lead just four minutes later, as Burke had her first goal into the right side of the net for a 2-0 lead. One minute later and bam, the Rebels now led 3-0 following a goal from Hazlett, marking the third different Boyle County player to score, but they weren't done scoring in the half.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Pulaski County junior Sofia Landon (10) attempts to get a shot past Boyle County senior goalkeeper Addie Cannon (right) during the Maroons' loss to Boyle County on Monday.

Boyle had their fourth goal of the contest in the 28th minute, as Hazlett had her second-straight goal into the right side of the net. Pulaski finally had their first solid look at the net past a swarming Boyle County defense in the 30th minute, as both Aubrey Richardson and Chloe Stogsdil had a shot at a loose ball. Britt had her second goal in the 33rd minute after she received a pass and put it right past the goalkeeper, and after many more shots narrowly missed for the Rebels in the final seven minutes of the half, Boyle took a 5-0 lead into the break.

After several more attempts were off for Boyle during the first 14 minutes of the second half, Ellery Taylor joined the scoring party with a goal near the net for a 6-0 lead. The Rebels scored two more goals in the half, giving them an 8-0 victory over Pulaski following a dazzling shutout performance in net by Addie Cannon.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Boyle County junior Ellery Taylor (right) battles with Pulaski County sophomore Ada Schepers (center) for possession of the ball during the game between the Lady Rebels and the Lady Maroons on Monday evening.

Boyle County will advance to Thursday evening's semifinals with a record of 15-6-2, while Pulaski County's season comes to an end with a record of 9-8-4. Best of luck to Pulaski seniors Kylee Haste, Simi McAlpin, Diana Rodriguez and Ayianna Tallman in all of their future endeavors.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Southwestern freshman Shayla Jones (14) attempts a shot on the goal during the Warriors' victory over East Jessamine on Monday.

Game two featured the Southwestern Warriors taking on the East Jessamine Lady Jaguars in a rematch of last year's first round battle that went the way of the Jags 1-0. Southwestern was out to earn revenge from that loss and got on the attack quick in the second minute, as a shot from Shayla Jones went wide of the net. Shots from Destiny Sadler narrowly missed their targets over the next few minutes, as did a shot from Austyn Hansen. Jones had two close attempts in the 10th and 14th minutes as both defenses were doing a solid job of preventing much of an attack by either team.

A shot from Abigail Turner was wide of the net in the 15th minute. Neither team could put together a good attack until the 30th minute of the contest, as a close attempt from Jones led to a foul near the top of the box, granting a free kick to the Warriors. Clare Marie Ramsey was selected to take the kick and it bent into the back of the net, giving Southwestern the 1-0 lead, but that wasn't the last time the sophomore was going to score on a free kick.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Southwestern sophomore Clare Marie Ramsey (black jersey) runs into the goalkeeper in an attempt towards the net during the Warriors' contest against East Jessamine on Monday at Clara Morrow Field.

Jones got in the scoring department in the 36th minute, as she followed up a terrific throw in from Jessalyn Flynn and received a pass that got her a look near the net. Her shot was nearly perfect as it crossed the goal line, putting the Warriors up 2-0. A corner kick from the Jags in the 37th minute was wide in the last real attempt by them in the first half, with Southwestern taking the two-goal edge into the break.

Sadler had multiple attempts in the beginning of the second half that she couldn't take advantage of. East finally scored their first goal of the game in the 50th minute, as they connected on a penalty kick try following a foul in the box that trimmed the Southwestern lead to just one goal at 2-1. Jaycee Daulton had multiple great saves in the back of the net over the next several minutes before Southwestern once again went ahead by two goals. A corner kick by the Warriors led to a hand ball in the box being called on the Jags, with Nelson connecting on the ensuing penalty kick to make it 3-1.

East Jessamine once again trimmed the Southwestern lead down to one with a goal in the 59th minute as the Lady Jaguars were making this contest interesting in the final 20 minutes of the ball game. Shots from Jones and Sadler over the next 10 minutes would all be deflected away as the Warriors were trying to get some much-needed breathing room. A free kick by the Jags in the 72nd minute that would have tied the game was saved by Daulton. A close attempt late by Emma Sears was nearly on the money after the goalkeeper dropped a shot attempt by Ramsey. Ramsey, in the final minute of the game, connected on a second free kick from the left side of the box to give the Warriors a 4-2 edge, with Southwestern soon celebrating a revenge victory over the Lady Jaguars.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Southwestern senior Destiny Sadler (left) falls while attempting to get past the defense of East Jessamine senior Hadley Wilson (right) during the game between the Warriors and the Lady Jaguars on Monday night.

Southwestern, now 17-3-2, will advance to Thursday's semifinals where they will play Boyle County in a rematch of their epic contest at the end of the regular season, with that game scheduled to kick at 6:30 p.m. East Jessamine finishes their season with a record of 11-9-1. Best of luck to Jaguar seniors Marlen Martinez, Abigail Turner and Hadley Wilson on all of their future endeavors.

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