By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Not rain, nor change of venue, nor the Marshfield Lady Jays were going to stop Jada Holloman and the Willard Lady Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
Holloman recorded a hat trick on her way to breaking Willard’s single-season scoring record, and the third-seeded Lady Tigers knocked off the No. 1-seeded Lady Jays 6-1 for the Class 3 District 11 title – their first since 2015 and the first with Coach Jamie Waddell at the helm.
“We have eight seniors and all year long they set team goals,” said Waddell, who had served as an assistant at Willard the previous six years. “First one, was the winning district title. Without the senior class and their leadership, I don’t think we’d be where we are right now. Jada Holloman, today, broke the scoring record with 50. I mean, she scored 50 goals this year. That’s a pretty big accomplishment. So, I couldn’t be more proud of her for that.”
The game was moved up a little more than two hours because of rain in the forecast and with Willard scheduled to host. But, with all the rain that had fallen recently, and Willard’s home field being natural grass, the game site was moved to Parkview High School’s turf field.
But, that didn’t seem to matter to the Lady Tigers, who improved to 10-14, as they got on the board early in the first half.
Willard senior forward Lauren Sears found the back of the net on a deflection after a corner kick to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead at the 31:21 mark.
Holloman added her first goal just about a minute later as fellow senior Ashlin Howell sent a ball down the sideline to her for a 2-0 advantage.
Kathryn Dublin made it 3-0 with 26:00 left in the first half.
Marshfield (17-8) was able to possess the ball on Willard’s end of the field in the final three minutes of the half. Hayleigh Cantrell got off a shot and the Lady Jays were awarded a corner, but could not find the back of the net before halftime.
The Lady Jays, seeded No. 1 for the first time since 2011 (also the last time they reached a district final), returned just one starter from 2019 in Cantrell.
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“We had 10 brand new players,” Marshfield coach Paul Lewis said. “Calli Watson (freshman) was a great addition. She’s going to be one of those that people are going to be watching for a long time. We came in with 10 brand new players that had never really played, had no varsity experience. So, I’m tickled by the result. Yes, I’m disappointed by the (score), but I knew we were going to have our hands full. But, I’m happy with our performance.”
It didn’t take Willard long to add another goal in the second half. Holloman stole the ball around midfield and when the Marshfield defense misplayed the ball, senior Hannah Moore sent it in from about the 40-yard line to give the Lady Tigers a 4-0 lead with 35:30 to go.
Another Holloman goal came on a through-ball from Madison Foley as Holloman was able to slip it past the Marshfield keeper to put Willard up 5-0 at the 27:22 mark.
Marshfield’s Watson got off a shot shortly after Holloman’s goal. And as the rain began to fall, Watson got another chance and found the back of the net to put the Lady Jays on the board, 5-1.
But, Holloman wasn’t finished. Moore found Holloman in front of the goal, and a few moves later, Holloman had her hat trick. This, on top of her record-setting performance in only 18 games (she missed six games with a broken left pinky.)
“It really feels nice just because we didn’t get a season last year, and it really put a ‘Debbie Downer’ on the whole season,” Holloman said of winning the district title, getting her hat trick and her record. “We haven’t won a district championship in about six years or so, so it was really nice to just be able to get that win.
“The last few games we’ve been playing, I’ve been man-marked the whole game, so I like to get my teammates involved. (On the third Willard goal) I got a big break right to the corner and I just hit it over and it went right into the goal, so it felt really nice.”
The Lady Tigers advance to the Class 3 Sectional 6 game against Webb City – a 2-1 winner over Carl Junction – on May 25.
“We’ll probably have to go to their place and play, so we just need to get more practice on turf,” Waddell said. “We’ll see what we can do with it, so we can come out and do the same stuff we did tonight. I thought we played well.
“We had a lot of injuries this year. We didn’t have Jada (out six games) and four other starters at the time we played a few of these teams because the injuries. We just got everybody back and healthy and I feel like we’re finally showing what we are at full-strength.”
And, while the loss hurts, Lewis said his Lady Jays have a lot to be proud of.
“I told our seniors that this isn’t the greatest thing you’re ever going to do,” Lewis said. “You’re going to go a lot further and do greater things. But hopefully, for us, it’s the start of ‘Hey, let’s be there more often.’ You know what? I’m OK with that.
“Yes, that loss hurts and it stings for a little while, but it’s not about getting knocked down. It’s about getting back up and trying to make it happen again. I’m really proud of our girls’ effort. You can’t ask for a whole lot more than that.”
Class 3 District 10 Championship
(3) Willard 6, (1) Marshfield 1
Willard (10-14) – 3-3—6
Marshfield (17-8) – 0-1—1
Scoring
First half
Willard – Lauren Sears (unassisted)
Willard – Jada Holloman (Ashlin Howell assist)
Willard – Kathryn Dublin (unassisted)
Second half
Willard – Hannah Moore (unassisted)
Willard – Holloman (Madison Foley assist)
Marshfield – Calli Watson (unassisted)
Willard – Holloman (Moore assist)
