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Boyle County senior Hannah Harris (15) does backflips during introductions of the Rebels' seniors prior to their game Tuesday against Southwestern. Harris scored three goals in Boyle's 9-0 win. (Clay Jackson / October 3, 2012) |
They went out with a bang in their final home game. Now the Boyle County girls’ mission is to make sure it wasn’t really their final home game.
Boyle wrapped up its home schedule Tuesday night by spanking Southwestern 9-0, but it wasn’t simply a matter of brushing aside an overmatched opponent.
For while the Rebels were winning, they were also working on what they need to do to return to Rebel Stadium in two weeks as the host team for the 12th Region Tournament, an opportunity they’ll get if they successfully defend their district title next week.
“I told them that back in August when I found out that our district winner was going to host the region. That’s something I reminded them (of often),” Boyle coach Brian Deem said. “I told them at the end of this game we have a job to do next week, to find a way to get the regional back here so we can have the kind of crowd and student body that we had tonight.”
So while this may not have been the end for Boyle (11-4-3), one player said it was at least the perfect ending to this chapter of their season.
“I think it was just a great way to end it all, well, not end it, but end our last regular-season (game),” senior midfielder Chelsea Gill said. “I think all of our seniors did good, and there wasn’t anything to be unhappy with.”
Gill scored four goals and fellow senior Hannah Harris scored three for the Rebels, who led 4-0 at halftime and had doubled that lead by the midpoint of the second half.
All seven Boyle seniors got in on the action, including forward Kate Carman, who suffered a season-ending injury five games into the schedule. Carman joined her classmates in the starting lineup just long enough to boot the opening kickoff out of bounds.
“These seniors, they’ve earned it,” Deem said, noting that this was the 80th career win for the senior class.
The Rebels outshot Southwestern 23-1, but Gill said they weren’t simply trying to pile up goals.
“We didn’t work strictly on just trying to score to get up on them really quick. We did what we think would help us for postseason, feeding the ball around, what we need to do for postseason rather than just this game,” she said.
Deem said that was just what he wanted to see.
“We really played well tonight. We possessed the ball like I wanted us to, we possessed the ball in a way that you have to to be successful in postseason, and we didn’t force anything tonight, which was good to see,” he said.
Gill, playing in only her fourth game since returning from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, scored Boyle’s first goal 1 minute, 38 seconds into the game. Harris got the next three, completing her hat trick with 40 seconds left in the first half.
Harris scored that goal and one before it by cleaning up rebounds of missed shots by Gill, and she also scored on a penalty kick resulting from a foul against Gill.
Southwestern (6-10-2) got off its one and only shot in the 44th minute, and Boyle began lighting up the scoreboard soon after that, scoring on four consecutive shots in a span of 8:34. Gill scored on three of those shots, twice off passes from Meghan Paynter, and Paynter scored off a pass from Alexis Kerbaugh.
Tabitha Evans capped the scoring with a goal in the 74th minute.
The Rebels have one regular-season game remaining Thursday at Bardstown before the 45th District Tournament next week at Lincoln County, where they will try to capture their sixth consecutive district title and earn the chance to play at least one more home game.
Gill wasn’t making any guarantees Tuesday, but she said that goal is well within their reach.
“Yeah, I think we definitely have the potential,” Gill said. “If everything goes right, we should be back.”
Boyle wrapped up its home schedule Tuesday night by spanking Southwestern 9-0, but it wasn’t simply a matter of brushing aside an overmatched opponent.
For while the Rebels were winning, they were also working on what they need to do to return to Rebel Stadium in two weeks as the host team for the 12th Region Tournament, an opportunity they’ll get if they successfully defend their district title next week.
“I told them that back in August when I found out that our district winner was going to host the region. That’s something I reminded them (of often),” Boyle coach Brian Deem said. “I told them at the end of this game we have a job to do next week, to find a way to get the regional back here so we can have the kind of crowd and student body that we had tonight.”
So while this may not have been the end for Boyle (11-4-3), one player said it was at least the perfect ending to this chapter of their season.
“I think it was just a great way to end it all, well, not end it, but end our last regular-season (game),” senior midfielder Chelsea Gill said. “I think all of our seniors did good, and there wasn’t anything to be unhappy with.”
Gill scored four goals and fellow senior Hannah Harris scored three for the Rebels, who led 4-0 at halftime and had doubled that lead by the midpoint of the second half.
All seven Boyle seniors got in on the action, including forward Kate Carman, who suffered a season-ending injury five games into the schedule. Carman joined her classmates in the starting lineup just long enough to boot the opening kickoff out of bounds.
“These seniors, they’ve earned it,” Deem said, noting that this was the 80th career win for the senior class.
The Rebels outshot Southwestern 23-1, but Gill said they weren’t simply trying to pile up goals.
“We didn’t work strictly on just trying to score to get up on them really quick. We did what we think would help us for postseason, feeding the ball around, what we need to do for postseason rather than just this game,” she said.
Deem said that was just what he wanted to see.
“We really played well tonight. We possessed the ball like I wanted us to, we possessed the ball in a way that you have to to be successful in postseason, and we didn’t force anything tonight, which was good to see,” he said.
Gill, playing in only her fourth game since returning from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, scored Boyle’s first goal 1 minute, 38 seconds into the game. Harris got the next three, completing her hat trick with 40 seconds left in the first half.
Harris scored that goal and one before it by cleaning up rebounds of missed shots by Gill, and she also scored on a penalty kick resulting from a foul against Gill.
Southwestern (6-10-2) got off its one and only shot in the 44th minute, and Boyle began lighting up the scoreboard soon after that, scoring on four consecutive shots in a span of 8:34. Gill scored on three of those shots, twice off passes from Meghan Paynter, and Paynter scored off a pass from Alexis Kerbaugh.
Tabitha Evans capped the scoring with a goal in the 74th minute.
The Rebels have one regular-season game remaining Thursday at Bardstown before the 45th District Tournament next week at Lincoln County, where they will try to capture their sixth consecutive district title and earn the chance to play at least one more home game.
Gill wasn’t making any guarantees Tuesday, but she said that goal is well within their reach.
“Yeah, I think we definitely have the potential,” Gill said. “If everything goes right, we should be back.”
