Women's Soccer | 2/14/2024 10:58:00 AM
The Lady Arrows Soccer team used a goal in the 88th minute to defeat the Madison Central Lady Jaguars in the MHSAA 7A North State Championship game on Tuesday night in Madison. The win pushes the Lady Arrows' record to 15-4-2 overall and 3-0 in the playoffs. The Lady Jaguars finish the season with a record of 19-2-1, with both losses coming at the hands of the Lady Arrows. The win sets up the MHSAA 7A State Championship game where the Lady Arrows will face the Lady Cougars of Northwest Rankin on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM at Ridgeland High School.
Going into the match, everyone knew it would be a battle to the bitter end. Over the past 5 years, Clinton and Madison Central have met 12 times. 8 of those matches have gone to extra time, and 6 of those matches have been decided by penalty kicks. Tuesday night was no different.
The Lady Arrows used a full team effort to win on Tuesday night. Every single player on the field played their role to a high quality and did their part to come out with the victory. The front line of
Kayla Jones,
Ruby Acy,
Jamilah Williams kept the pressure on the Lady Jaguars and scored as many goals on Madison Central as they had given up all season coming into Tuesday night. The midfield of
Lauren Warner,
Isabella Jones,
Cooper Pletzke,
Cooper Holmes, and
Kate Crisler did an unbelievable job winning 50/50 balls all night and transitioning from defense to offense to give attacking opportunities. The back line of
Mandy Leach,
Mckenzie Price, and
Jada Watson did what they have done all year and continued to turn away pressure from the Lady Jaguars. Add in some amazing saves from Goalkeeper
Sarah Polk and it was the recipe for an instant classic where the Lady Arrows came out victorious.
The Lady Arrows struck first in the 22nd minute when they earned a free kick from 35 yards out on the left side of the field. Center back
Mckenzie Price stepped up to take the kick and sent in a perfect shot that grazed the fingertips of the Jaguar keeper and snuck under the crossbar and into the back of the net to give the Lady Arrows the 1-0 lead. Both teams would create opportunities throughout the rest of the first half, but would come up empty and the teams headed to the locker room at 1-0.
In the second half, the Lady Arrows continuously turned back attacks from the Lady Jaguars until they were finally able to find a corner of the net in the 55th minute to tie the score at 1. The final 25 minutes of regulation was a dog fight as both team again created multiple chances but remained tied headed into extra time.
In the 8th minute of the first extra time period,
Isabella Jones put a cross into the box that found the forehead of
Cooper Holmes who put the ball just inside the right post and into the goal as the Madison Central keeper attempted to punch the ball out, but could not before the ball crossed the goal line.
The Lady Arrows successfully pushed back any Jaguar attack over the last 12 minutes of extra time and the final whistle blew, sending the Lady Arrows to their 3rd consecutive North State Championship and their 4th in the last 5 seasons.
Head Coach Elliot Rimmer said of his team's performance, "Last night was two top teams battling and competing at such a high level athletically, tactically, and technically. Madison is an excellent program that's very well coached so we know that we have to bring our best to come out on top, and last night we brought our best. Our girls were locked in and completely committed to getting the job done and getting back to where we want to be, and they have earned the right to play for another state championship. Massively proud of them. We are now fully focused on Saturday and preparing for another great opponent in NWR. We are ready."
