By Denise Tucker
It didn’t take long Saturday for the Catholic Lady Irish to establish that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the Class 2 – District 10 soccer tournament.
In roughly 44 minutes of play, the Lady Irish charged to a 10-0 semifinal victory over Aurora on their home turf.
Just 29 seconds had ticked off the clock when Ashley Andrews found Brinn Cooper in front of the goal to give the Lady Irish a 1-0 lead to open the scoring for Catholic. Emma Skornia scored on an assist from Peyton McNabb four minutes later, Cooper followed with another goal, this time from Skornia in the eighth minute, and the Lady Irish were off to the races.
“We have a very deep group, and one of the most talented ones we’ve had,” Catholic coach Ben Timson said. “We had an advantage in that regard, and it’s always good to get an early one and get it going, then everyone kind of settles down and plays with more confidence.”
Timson then made wholesale substitutions, giving his starters a rest after a busy school and game schedule over the past week. Catholic’s bench added four more goals in the half to boost the Lady Irish to a 7-0 halftime lead.
“It was interesting because a lot of them came out and they were really tired,” Timson said of the extensive time the bench played. “In the second half, we went back to the starting group we had at the beginning.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
And, those starters didn’t waste any time putting the game away in the first four minutes of the second half with goals from Kenzie Serrano, Kaleia Huttenlocher and Kaitlin Knetzke.
“After they sat there for 33 minutes in the first half, they were itching to go,” Timson said.
Skornia, a Missouri State University signee who missed most of 2016 because of a broken leg, is excited to get back to the district title game.
“It’s very big,” Skornia said of getting back to the final. “With everything that happened last year at districts (a 1-0 loss to Bolivar in the final), being able to come back and know that we have the ability to regain what we kind of lost… we are looking forward to playing on Tuesday.
“I think we have a really good chance. Our mind-set, right now, is very strong and I think we’re all positive and looking forward to it.”
Last year’s loss to Bolivar in the Class 2 – District 9 championship snapped a string of 13 straight district titles for the Lady Irish, and they are eager to start a new streak.
“As far as who we are going to play, it doesn’t really change (our approach) much,” Skornia said. “I think, in general, we just know we want to win that title. It doesn’t matter who it’s going to be against, but our mind-set is to win, play hard and go out with everything we can do.”
Timson said his players decided that after last year’s loss, “they were not going to lose the district championship this year, no matter who was in it.
“That certainly doesn’t mean we are going to win it, so our mind-set is still the same.”
Next up for the Lady Irish is Rogersville, a 10-0 winner over Monett in the nightcap. Catholic (16-4-2) topped the Lady Wildcats 4-2 in an early season contest.
“Rogersville is a strong team,” Timson said. “They have played very well for the last six weeks. No matter who wins this… we’re not just going to walk out on the field and win.”
Last year’s district loss also snapped a streak of six straight trips to the final four.
“We are very hungry (to get back),” Skornia said. “That’s our goal every year, and last year after we lost that, I think this year, we want it even more than we ever have before.”
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 10 SEMIFINAL
Catholic Lady Irish 10, Aurora Lady Houns 0
Aurora (3-14) 0-0 – 0
Catholic (16-4-2) 7-3 – 10
First half scoring
Catholic – Brinn Cooper (assisted by Ashley Andrews)
Catholic – Emma Skornia (assisted by Peyton McNabb)
Catholic – Cooper (assisted by Skornia)
Catholic – Thania Munoz (unassisted)
Catholic – Maggie Buer (assisted by Colleen Kerr)
Catholic – Rachel Miller (assisted by Maggie Meek)
Catholic – Kerr (assisted by Buer)
Second-half scoring
Catholic –Kenzie Serrano (assisted by Andrews)
Catholic – Kaleia Huttenlocher (assisted by Skornia)
Catholic – Kaitlin Knetzke (assisted by Huttenlocher)
Up next: Class 2 District 10 Championship, 6 p.m. Tuesday, at Catholic
