Momentum continues to build for the Lady Pioneer soccer team. Warren County won its third match in a row Tuesday, dominating rival Coffee County 5-1 at home. Senior Carmen Verdel was the catalyst, recording her first career hat trick for the Lady Pioneers.
After suffering through some growing pains of the early season, where the group won just one of its first nine games, Warren County is now 4-6-2 and surging at the perfect moment.
“I’m excited about the way we’re playing,” said coach Kimberly Smith. “These girls come in everyday wanting to get better. They know our end goal was always the district tournament and we’re happy to be on this winning streak with just one more week left in the regular season.”
Verdel’s scoring explosion was backed up by one goal each from Jayla Garibaldi and Allie Escamilla. Escamilla is now the sixth different Lady Pioneer to score during the winning streak, while Verdel – who also was a huge reason Warren County beat Shelbyville at home last week – has four goals in the last three games.
Verdel helped the Lady Pioneers make it to halftime tied with Coffee County 1-1. She got her big night rolling with an early goal, which felt like it wouldn’t be the only one for Warren County in the first 40 minutes. The Lady Pioneers had plenty of opportunities to take control in the first half, only to see some shots just miss the mark or fly high of the goal.
At halftime, coach Smith made some minor changes and it led to a dominant second half.
“We changed a little bit of our alignment and played some different players in positions so we could find a different momentum. We had a lot of shots in the first half, so we knew if we could keep pushing that they would find a way in eventually,” said Smith.
Verdel got the scoring barrage started in the second half, netting a quick goal as the Lady Pioneers took control for good. Escamilla followed with her first goal of the season to make it 3-1, then Garibaldi – a blur throughout the match that kept Coffee County on high alert – busted into the scoring column shortly after. By the time Verdel completed her hat trick, Warren County was working on getting in some younger players so they could enjoy the blowout too.
Warren County went to Spring Hill Thursday night in hopes of continue its winning streak against district opponents. The results were unavailable at press time. Check Sunday’s edition for more coverage on the Lady Pioneer soccer team.
