Oct. 5, 2012 — A tie may not be the desired way to end a game, but when you’re playing a tenacious team from the 10th Region, a tie isn’t such a bad thing.
With both teams setting up an iron curtain on defense, the Lady Vikings could not find the back of the net Tuesday night, taking home another tie on the season against Bourbon County, 0-0.
The postseason is set to begin next week and the Lady Vikings looked sharp defensively. Senior defenders Brooke Caskey and Amy Roe, along with sophomore midfielder Bailee Pennington, helped keep the defensive pressure on the Lady Colonels.
Pennington and fellow sophomore Ally Hackney led several scoring opportunities in the first half, only to see several shots contained by Bourbon County goalie Paige Puckett.
Tenacious play on both sides endured in just the opening 40 minutes, but the second half as well.
Rowan County Coach Randy Wallace said he knew Monday’s matchup would be a physical one, but felt his girls responded well.
“This was a tough, very physical game, and I thought we did a great job of matching their intensity,” Wallace said. “Our defensive players were outstanding, they pushed up well and kept the ball on the attack for us. I also thought our conditioning played a big part in the second half, we stayed on the attack most of the half with some good looks at goal.”
Puckett’s solid play inside the net for the Lady Colonels was matched by Rowan County’s Ashley Burton as she kept a stranglehold on several Bourbon County offensive attacks to gain another shutout on the year.
Now at 11-3-4, the Lady Vikes have themselves sitting pretty atop the 16th Region standings as it heads toward postseason play next week.
“I feel that this team is playing at a very high level of soccer right now and have put ourselves in a good position headed into postseason play,” Wallace said. “I am very pleased with where we are going headed towards the postseason.”
Grant Stevens can be reached at gstevens@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
