Women's Soccer | 2/5/2025 9:07:00 AM

The Clinton High School Women's Soccer team felt it had entered a slump at the conclusion of the regular season. Yet, Clinton seemingly pulled itself out of that rut against the Hernando Lady Tigers in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 7A Playoffs on Tuesday night.

Kayla Jones scored a brace and Ellyn Burchfield -- the sophomore goalkeeper -- and the Lady Arrow defense shut out the Lady Tigers in a 2-0 win at Arrow Field.

The result advanced Clinton (14-4-1) to the playoff's quarterfinal where they will face the Oxford Lady Chargers at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in Oxford. The match-up is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal when the Lady Arrows defeated the Lady Chargers, 4-0, en route to a MHSAA Class 7A runner-up finish in the 2023-24 season. Clinton and Oxford met earlier in this regular season in an eight-goal thriller that Clinton won 5-3 on Nov. 2 at Arrow Field.

"So proud of the girls response after not playing our best soccer over the last two games," Clinton Head Women's Soccer Coach Elliot Rimmer said. "Hernando was very organized, very experienced team, and our girls were up for the challenge. For a lot of our younger girls this game was their first taste of playoff soccer. After a brief adjustment period to start the game, we settled in well and made the game look like we wanted it to look."

Jones opened the scoring when she received a precise through-ball from Carly Howell out of the middle of the field that split the Hernando defense. The junior striker raced on to the ball, took a touch, and thunderously struck the ball past the keeper. Clinton led 1-0 at the 26th-minute mark and carried the lead into halftime.

In the second half, Jones doubled the Lady Arrows' advantage when Cate Thompson's cross deflected off a Hernando defender. Jones calmly collected the ball and smashed it into the left corner, claiming the two-goal advantage in the 57th minute.

"Having Kayla back in a reduced capacity after the injury she picked up was certainly a boost to the team," Rimmer said. "Seeing (Kayla) grab two goals off of some excellent assists (from Howell and Thompson) is very encouraging moving forward."

Not only have the Lady Arrows proven they can score, the defensive effort has been strong throughout the year. With Mandy Leach and Burchfield anchoring the defense, Clinton has only allowed 13 goals in their 19 games. Again, the steady duo provided the necessary support to see out the team's ninth shutout of the season.

"As always, we know that championship teams live and die by the leadership that comes from strong defensive players, and Ellyn, Mandy, and the supporting back line were rock solid tonight," Rimmer said.