Aug. 17, 2012 — There were no losses to speak of in the opening two nights of soccer for the Rowan County Lady Vikings as it defeated Mason County Monday night by a score of 9-0, and tied one of the 16th Region’s premiere programs, Lawrence County, Tuesday at home.
Monday’s opener on the road against the Lady Royals crowned the Lady Vikings queens on the night.
The interregional matchup saw Rowan County have four to find the back of the net, with Ally Hackney Hannah Neeper picking up three goals apiece, while Haley DeVaney, Hannah Bandura and Deanna May each added a goal.
There was some helping hands in each of these goals as well, including Hackney adding four to go along with her three goals, with Allison Towell and Montanna Minor contributing one apiece.
Ashley Burton put the stops on the Mason County offense, picking up the shutout for her team.
Rowan County Head Coach Randy Wallace said his team really took advantage of its offensive capabilities Monday night.
“I think Monday showed us what this team is capable of on offense,” Wallace said. “We really put on some tough defense and capitalized on that by playing proficiently in front of the net. We had good looks at the goal, and the girls connected, and as a coach you can’t really say anything negative when you play like that.”
Things opened up well for the Rowan County Lady Vikings on Tuesday against Lawrence County as its junior varsity squad picked up a 4-0 to start the night out right.
In the opening half of the varsity competition, Rowan County picked up two goals to take a 2-0 lead before the Lady Bulldogs responded with two goals of its own.
After the half, Rowan’s girls responded with two more goals to take a seemingly commanding 4-2 lead.
Lawrence County made a run late in the game to knot the game at four apiece, one coming off of a penalty kick, and the other from a free kick.
After the Lady Bulldogs scored its final goal, both teams excelled on defense to finish the game in a tie at 4-4.
Hackney once again shined bright for the girls in green with two goals on the night, while Devaney and Minor each added a goal to the Lady Vikes’ total.
Wallace commented on his girls effort in their first home game.
“Lawrence has a great program, and we are by no means disappointed in how we played,” Wallace said. “We had some chances there to kind of put the nail in the coffin so to speak, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way. As far as what we hope to accomplish this season, I feel that we are right on course, and we can definitely enter the next game with our heads held high.”
After Tuesday’s tie with Lawrence, the Lady Vikings now hit the road for a tournament this weekend at Daviess County.
Be sure to stick with The Morehead News for more on Lady Viking soccer.
Grant Stevens can be reached at gstevens@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
