CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
OLIVE HILL — Martin County High School girls soccer will head to Louisville after a convincing 5-1 win over West Carter in the opening round of the All “A” Classic State Tournament. The Sweet 16 match was Thursday at West Carter in the 16th Region.
The Lady Cards advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school history, defeating Prestonsburg 1-0 in the All “A” 15th Region championship game Sept. 9.
Martin County looked focused and ready to play as the Lady Cards took the field.
From the opening whistle, it was obvious Coach Steven Gauze’s squad was not intimidated by West Carter. The Lady Cards started attacking early.
Martin County had taken five shots on goal but could not find the net until Lena Hale scored on a corner kick around the 15-minute mark. Soon after, Sophie McCoy added a goal to push the lead to 2-0 at 20 minutes into the game. Laura Hale added a goal of her own to end the half with Martin County up 3-0.
West Carter came out aggressively in the second half and capitalized off a penalty by the Cards to keep the game close 3-1.
The Lady Cards returned the favor as Lena Hale scored on a penalty kick to extend the Martin County lead to 4-1. Faith Caldwell scored the final goal to seal the win.
“We were very prepared for this game,” Coach Gauze said after the game. “Mentally the girls were focused, and we played well at first. I felt we let off the gas when we scored several goals close together – and West Carter took advantage of it, scoring a goal. But we responded well with some goals of our own… I’m really happy for the team to get the win.”
Martin County is on a 10-game win streak and has a 12-2 season record.
The remaining rounds of the All “A” State Tournament are Sept. 23-24 in Louisville.
The Lady Cards will open the “Elite 8” round against Region 2 champion University Heights (10-1) at 9 a.m. Sept. 23 at Assumption High School, 2170 Tyler Lane, Louisville. The winner of that game will move on to the semifinal round at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at Louisville Collegiate School, 2427 Glenmary Avenue, Louisville. The championship game is set for 11 a.m. Sept. 24 at Louisville Collegiate.
Before Thursday’s game, community leaders treated the Lady Cards to lunch at Shufflin Café, congratulating and encouraging them. See the related story.