Another great season for the Warren County High School girls soccer team has come to a close just shy of the state tournament.
The Lady Pioneers fell in the sectionals for the second straight season Saturday when the team lost at Oakland 1-0. It dropped Warren County’s record to 16-6 this season – with four of those losses coming to teams competing in this week’s state tournament.
Warren County was playing its third game in five days when it traveled to Murfreesboro Saturday for a matchup with the 18-4 Lady Patriots. It was a familiar trip after having to play the Siegel Lady Stars last year in the sectionals – a game the Lady Pioneers lost 3-0.
The experience from last year, along with a feisty Lady Pioneer defense, helped Warren County play Oakland to a scoreless stalemate in the first half, but Lady Patriot sophomore A.B. Hawkins scored in the 49th minute and it proved to be the difference.
Warren County coach Todd Willmore and his team took the loss hard as a state-tournament bid eluded the Lady Pioneers for the second straight year.
“This loss was tough, especially to be that close to advancing to the state tournament,” said Willmore. “I thought we missed a few opportunities early in the first half, specifically a couple of corner kicks.  I believe if we had scored early the entire complexity of the match would have been changed.”
Neither team seemed to find an offensive rhythm in the first half, though Warren County did get two early corner kicks that pressed the Oakland defense. The first corner kick by senior Ansley Mullican sailed behind the goal, while the second narrowly missed when sophomore Alana Ortiz went up to try a header.
While the Warren County offense had trouble finding traction, the Lady Pioneer defense continued its trend of bottling teams up in the postseason.
Keeper Jessie Newby made two diving saves – adding to her highlight-reel saves in the postseason - while junior Rylee Hilliard was a stopper on the back end while replacing senior Taylor Mullican as she was forced to sit out after receiving a red card in the regional final loss to Cookeville.
When the second half started, the Lady Patriots seemed to turn up the offensive heat. Newby was up to the task early as she made three straight saves at one point, including taking the ball off Hawkins’ foot right in front of the net on what looked to be a sure goal for Oakland.
Hawkins wouldn’t relent though. The Lady Patriot striker would get another look minutes later and made her fourth shot count. Newby couldn’t make another spectacular save as Oakland scored nine minutes into the second half to take a 1-0 lead.
The score would stay the same until the end, even as Warren County tried frantically to send the game into overtime with a score. The Lady Pioneers had a late chance, but it was thwarted when senior Morgan McCormick got the wrong end of a whistle in the final minute.
McCormick tried to run down a pass in front of the Lady Patriot goal right above the keeper’s box. McCormick got there right as the Lady Patriot keeper did and the players collided just as McCormick got a foot on the ball. The whistle blew as most Warren County players presumed a foul would be called on the keeper, but instead McCormick was called for a foul as it was ruled she didn’t make a play on the ball.
Seconds later, the game was over as the Lady Pioneer players still stood on the field wondering how the whistle went the other way.
Coach Willmore thought his team should’ve got a late chance, but it didn’t happen. It was a rough way to end its third one-goal game in the postseason.
“Morgan had a great look at the end and appeared to be fouled by their keeper just outside the box, but the official called a foul against Morgan. It would have been nice to have one more look at the goal to see if we could have forced overtime,” said Willmore. “Three tough games in less than a week appeared to take its toll. We asked a lot of each girl in the postseason as we played with limited or no substitutions. I was extremely pleased with their desire. They are truly a special group.”
It proved to be the final game for seven Lady Pioneers as the group leaves after a remarkable run. In the last four years, Warren County has won 59 games, made four regional-tournament appearances, won two district championships, and played in two sectional matches. Several members of the senior class have also garnered individual awards, like McCormick and Ansley Mullican receiving all-state recognition last year.
Coach Willmore is extremely proud of McCormick, Newby, Lesley Sweeton, Ansley Mullican, Taylor Mullican, Kristin Maynord and Courtney Blair for their accomplishments.
“These girls truly left the program better than it was when they entered as freshmen,” said Willmore. “The team in general is very unselfish and the last few matches is evidence of that. The girls were willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team and that can be tough in today's society. Obviously, that makes me very proud as a coach to have such quality young women in our program.”
The state finals will be played Saturday, Nov. 2. The state tournament includes Oakland and District 6-AAA champion Cookeville, along with Houston, Dobyns-Bennett, Franklin, Collierville, Ravenwood and Farragut.