Lady Cardinals on win streak

CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

PAINTSVILLE — Martin County Middle School girls soccer team avenged its only loss of the 2023 season with a 2-1 win over district rival Johnson Central Middle School on the road April 18.

Coming into week 2, the Lady Cards were on a four-game win streak, with their only loss this season coming at the hands of JCMS. With this victory, Martin County stretched its win streak to five and the season record to 7-1.

It was a defensive fight from the opening whistle, with both teams battling for every ball. The Lady Cards were able to start connecting passes and had several shots on goal that were near misses.

Martin County kept the offensive pressure up which paid off with Faith Caldwell finding the back of the net 21 minutes into the game. The half ended with a 1-0 advantage for the Lady Cards.

Johnson Central put offensive pressure on Martin County in the second half, but the defense was up to the challenge.

Martin County pushed forward and scored their second goal of the game in a quick counterattack that found Annaleigh Davis, who scored the goal.

The final five minutes of the game found both teams tired, but the JC offense kept attacking. The Lady Eagles scored a goal with three minutes left in the game to keep it close.

The final two minutes were fast-paced, but when the final whistle blew, Coach Steven Gauze’s Lady Cards came out on top 2-1.

“Very proud of how tough these girls were tonight,” Gauze said. “They have been working really hard to prepare for this game and looking forward to a rematch. It’s a big win for the team and I’m very proud of them.”

The Lady Cards have two weeks of the regular season left. This week’s schedule includes East Carter at home Monday (April 24) and then two final district matchups on the road against Paintsville and Adams Middle School.