Lady Pacer soccer earns title, conference championship
The Switzerland County Lady Pacer varsity soccer team earned the championship of its own Switzerland County Invitational Tournament on Saturday — a few days after securing the ORVC Conference title.
Switzerland County also continues to be a presence in the state rankings and statistics, as MaxPreps has the Lady Pacers ranked #7 in Indiana Class 1A as of Monday, September 26th. Oldenburg Academy is currently ranked #11, which sets up another showdown between the two teams in Sectional play.
Also: Muncie Burris is ranked #12 in 1A. The team includes former Lady Pacer Hailey Sainz, who is attending the Indiana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Muncie.
Individually, junior Halle Archer continues among the state’s elite, as she ranks #15 in the state overall with 60 points scored (goals plus assists); and she ranks #20 overall in goals scored with 24.
Austin
The first game of the tournament for Switzerland County was against Austin, and after jumping out to a 3-0 halftime lead; six more goals in the second half led to a 9-0 win by the Mercy Rule.
It didn’t take long for Switzerland County to get on the scoreboard, as Emma Parsons scored just two minutes into the match off of an assist by Courtney Higgins.
At the 24-minute mark, Parsons scored again, this time off of an assist by Halle Archer; and at the 37-minute mark, Lauren Smith scored the third Lady Pacer goal of the half.
Solidly in control of the game, the second half opened with Parson recording her third goal of the match at the 43-minute mark off of an assist by Kenzie Taylor.
At the 50-minute mark, Maddie Levell made it 5-0 Switzerland County when she converted a penalty kick; and three minutes later Taylor scored off of an assist by Claire Rogers at the 53-minute mark.
At the 56-minute mark, Rogers, scored off of an assist by Archer; then Archer scored at the 69-minute mark off of an assist by Smith.
Higgins then scored the final goal of the match at the 73-minute mark.
Carroll County
The Austin win pushed Switzerland County into the championship match against Carroll County. The title tilt came immediately after the Lady Pacer win, so the Carroll County squad was rested and ready — and the match was a close one.
Three minutes into the match Emma Parsons scored to give Switzerland County an early lead; but Carroll County converted a goal at the 38-minute mark to send the game to the half tied at 1-1.
The game continued to be tied at 1-1 throughout the second half, and regulation ended with the match still tied at 1-1.
That sent the game into a five-shot penalty kick shootout — and it also ended with both teams converting four of the five shots.
That tie resulted in the match going into a second round of penalty kicks — this time sudden death — and Switzerland County won that by a 2-1 count to earn the title.
Lady Pacer goalie Allena Weaver had five saves; and she also had three penalty kick saves.
Southwestern
Last Tuesday, September 20th, the Lady Pacers traveled to Hanover for a conference matchup with Southwestern.
Taking control early, Switzerland County raced to a 9-0 Mercy Rule win, a match that earned the Lady Pacers the outright conference championship with an overall ORVC record of 8-0-0.
In Tuesday’s game, Courtney Higgins got the scoring started at the seven-minute mark; and 20-minutes into the half, Halle Archer scored off an assist by Avy Burkholder.
Archer returned the favor just two minutes later when she assisted on a Burkholder goal at the 22-minute mark; and two minutes after that, at the 24-minute mark Archer scored again.
Addi Deck wrapped up the first half scoring at the 30-minute mark off of an assist by Kenzie Taylor.
Up by five at the halftime break; Switzerland County kept up the offensive pressure in the second half, scoring four more goals to end the game by the Mercy Rule.
Lauren Smith got the second half scoring started with a goal at the 45-minute mark with an assist by Taylor; and Taylor found the back of the net at the 50-minute mark off of an assist by Archer.
A minute later Archer scored; and when Archer scored again at the 56-minute mark off an assist by Kaitlyn Nichols, the game was secure and the conference championship was assured.