Both the Warren County High School soccer and football teams were home on Thursday night, and both teams suffered a weather delay because of lightning.
More importantly both teams won as the Lady Pioneers earned a 5-3 victory over Franklin County behind a three-goal night from Katie Toney.
WCHS coach Todd Willmore said, “The girls were very focused and determined to get back on the winning track. Our leaders stepped up during the delay and began running through their typical warmup routine in the (indoor) facility. When the girls finally hit the field, they appeared motivated to get started.”
The Lady Pioneers (3-1) avenged a road loss earlier in the week against John Paul II High School in Hendersonville.
Coach Willmore praised his defense after the win.
“Our back line and keeper played much better than our last match, staying in good shape and supporting one another. Sarah Badger, Natalie Stepien, Shelby Roberts, Savannah Winfree, Bailey Bundy, and Samantha McCormick all anchor our defense. Natalie and Shelby are the only two with significant experience in their current positions, but the group appears to be developing more trust in each other. In the middle of the field Journey Cowan and Bekah Jackson are setting up some very positive scoring opportunities for our team. We ask a great deal from our outside midfielders, Jaden Smartt and Breezy Wanamaker, with constant transition up and down the field from an offensive mindset to defensive help.”
Katie Toney began the scoring by penetrating Franklin County’s back line off the dribble, scoring with a powerful kick across the goalie’s face into the back of the net.
Willmore described the second goal as a team effort. “We did a nice job defensively of winning the ball back in our defensive third. At that point, Shelby Roberts made a good penetrating pass to Jaden Smartt, who played the ball to Bekah and she found Katie immediately. The score culminated with Katie beating her defender and scoring.”
The first half ended with Warren County up 2-1. Franklin County evened things up in the second half, 2-2.
Bekah Jackson scored about 10 minutes after Franklin County evened the score on a free kick after a hard foul from Franklin County. Jaden Smart set Breezy Wanamaker up for the next goal.
Bekah Jackson and Katie Toney worked together on the final goal. Coach Willmore described it this way, “Bekah and Katie combined beautifully just before the end of regulation to end the scoring. Bekah attacked them at pace with the ball forcing them to pick her up and she slid the ball right past her defender to Katie’s feet. After Katie received the ball, she exploded past the defensive line and hammered a shot past the keeper to end the game at 5-3.”
Scoring summary:
Katie Toney
3 goals
Bekah Jackson
1 goal and 1 assist
Breezy Wanamaker
1 goal
Jaden Smart
1 assist
