The Powell Lady Panthers won what is believed to be their first-ever district soccer title in a 5-4 win during a penalty kick shootout against Oak Ridge on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo courtesy Powell High School Girls Soccer)
The Powell Lady Panthers won what is believed to be their first-ever district soccer title in a 5-4 win during a penalty kick shootout against Oak Ridge on Thursday.
No one scored in 80 minutes of regulation time during the District 3-AAA championship game at Powell Middle School on Thursday, October 15. Then the score remained tied 0-0 through two 10-minute overtimes and two five-minute sudden death overtimes.
The game then went to penalty kicks, with the Lady Panthers and Lady Wildcats each getting five tries.
But the two teams were tied 4-4 at the end of the fifth attempt, Powell Coach Mark Smith said. So, the game went to a sixth try, and that’s when Powell scored one and Oak Ridge (13-4, 4-1 District 3-AAA) did not.
Sophomore Brooke Huffaker of Powell (10-4-3, 5-0) scored the winning goal.
Smith said there were two to three momentum swings during the game, and both teams had opportunities but neither could finish.
“It was a pretty evenly matched game,” Smith said.
He said both goalkeepers—junior Emily Murphy of Powell and senior Jasmine Rizk of Oak Ridge—did well.
“She was definitely focused,” Smith said of Murphy, adding that she got her hands on three or four of the penalty kicks. Murphy had one, but it rolled in after she bobbled it, Smith said.
It was a high-pressure situation.
“The girls came off just in tears,” Smith said.
As far as he can tell, Smith said, it’s the first-ever district soccer title for the Lady Panthers.
Other Panthers scoring during the penalty kick phase, when players shoot from 12 yards out, were sophomore Raygan Scarbrough, freshman Bailey Taylor, sophomore Ashlyn Miller, and sophomore Rachel Ross.
Scoring for Oak Ridge were senior Macy Barclay, sophomore Alex Rouse, senior Katie Welsh, and sophomore Zoe Van Hook.
This game was different than the last one between Oak Ridge and Powell, when the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead before winning 4-1. Before the district championship game on Thursday, Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly had said the Lady Wildcats needed to prevent early goals.
“It was good solid defensive play,” Smith said after the game. “The defensive mindset…was not to give up a goal, and I think that’s where it ended up.”
Smith gave special credit to defensive coach Chris Thorson.
“He had them well-prepared,” Smith said.
The Lady Wildcats finished as District 3-AAA runner-up, but they advanced to the Region 2-AAA tournament with their 10-0 district semifinal win over Halls on Tuesday, October 13.
Oak Ridge will play at Hardin Valley (13-3-2, 5-1-1 District 4-AAA) on Tuesday, October 20, in a Region 2 semifinal game.
Powell will play Maryville (14-5-2, 4-3 District 4-AAA) at Powell on Tuesday in another Region 2 semifinal game.
Here’s how the pairings work: The District 3 champion (Powell) plays the District 4 runner-up (Maryville), and the District 4 champion (Hardin Valley) plays the District 3 runner-up (Oak Ridge).
Hardin Valley beat Maryville 1-0 on Thursday in the District 4-AAA championship. Hardin Valley beat Oak Ridge 4-1 during the regular season on September 23.
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