Every outing for the Warren County High School girls soccer team debunks the myth soccer is a boring, non-contact sport.
Tuesday’s match with Shelbyville featured two high-octane offenses, red cards, near fights, fan ejections, a freshman finishing with a hat trick and the Lady Pioneers taking home a 5-4 win. Warren County improved to 11-2 and was able to claim victory despite the game stopping with just over 10 minutes left to play.
Shelbyville coach Neal Gordon asked referees to stop the game late after play had been marred by several fouls and fan incidents in the second half.
Warren County coach Todd Willmore seemed to agree that the game was getting very physical, though he acknowledged the win should stand because the game was played past halftime.
Bad blood runs between the two soccer programs, dating back to the players battling in middle-school action. A raucous crowd spurred on the action, often leading to the referee stopping play to warn fans about their behavior.
Shelbyville jumped out to an early lead, getting three goals in the first half. The Lady Pioneers answered the first two goals by the Eaglettes, but went into halftime trailing 3-2.
Senior Ansley Mullican set up the first Warren County score by taking a free kick near midfield and blasting the ball to the goal. Freshman Madison Mason started her memorable night by knocking in Mullican’s pass, tying the game at 1-1.
Shelbyville responded quickly to retake the lead, but Mullican was able to find fellow senior Morgan McCormick for the equalizer. Mullican sent a pass through the Shelbyville defense to McCormick, who received the ball on a dead sprint.
With room to run in the 1-on-1 situation, McCormick maneuvered her way past the Shelbyville keeper and knocked home her 21st goal this season.
Action got heated late in the first half when senior defender Taylor Mullican was hit high with a flailing arm of Shelbyville striker Alexis Larion. Both players squared off near midfield and had to be separated by the official. It was the start of several players receiving yellow cards.
Shelbyville broke the 2-2 tie shortly before halftime, but Warren County would storm back to start the second half.
Mullican scored in the first minute after play resumed, giving her 30 goals this year. Mullican hit a perfect shot from the left wing that crept past the outstretched hands of the keeper.
With the game tied 3-3, the Lady Pioneers finally were able to take their first lead behind back-to-back goals by Mason. The freshman notched her first career varsity hat trick on two goals in the span of five minutes as Warren County went ahead 5-3.
During the course of the scoring, one Warren County fan was ejected for standing too close to the field and several parents on each side were warned for shouting.
Shelbyville would draw within one with a late goal, but the visitors wouldn’t get a chance to go for the tie. The last few minutes of action didn’t feature goals, but cards came out on both teams.
Shelbyville’s Lesleigh Blackburn, who scored two goals, received a yellow card for hitting Taylor Mullican high and Larion was ejected for her second yellow card late.
Warren County also had a player exit early as sophomore Lindsay Cox picked up a pair of yellow cards. Cox’s second card sent her to the bench while coach Gordon looked for the officials. The short discussion led to the match ending before the full 40 minutes had elapsed from the second-half clock.
McCormick, one of the Lady Pioneer senior leaders, tried her best to stay out of the mess late in the action, knowing any misstep could cost her team.
“It was pretty physical, but I tried to stay out of it,” said McCormick. “I didn’t want to get a red card and miss our next game.”
The Lady Pioneers were back on the field last night for their final regular-season home game. The score of last night’s District 6-AAA match against Rhea County was unavailable at press time. For more information, check Sunday’s Southern Standard.