Lady Pacers soccer earns second straight Sectional championship; Regional match tonight
The Switzerland County Lady Pacer soccer team has been dominant all season, and that dominance continued last week as coach Courtney Dayadharum’s squad rolled through the Class 1A Sectional #45.
Milan
In the opening game of the Sectional on Tuesday, October 4th, Switzerland County pounded Milan by a final score of 7-0.
The Lady Pacers scored four goals in the first half and then added three more in the second half to easily secure the win and move on into the semifinal.
It didn’t take long for Switzerland County to find the back of the net — scoring just 17-minutes into the match; and then continued their scoring run going into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
Switzerland County would go on to score three more times in the second half.
Once again the Lady Pacer defense was a big key in the victory, coming up with big stops to record the team’s 12th shutout of the season in 16 games.
Oldenburg Academy
On Thursday, October 6th, the #7-ranked Lady Pacers faced off with nemesis Oldenburg Academy (ranked #14) in the semifinal match.
The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in a regular season game held on September 15th, and Thursday’s semifinal was generally seen as the championship game.
Both teams fought back and forth throughout the contest, and Switzerland County earned the win when Hallie Archer scored in the 60th minute.
Switzerland County’s defense then held strong, and the Lady Pacers moved on to the Sectional championship game with a 1-0 victory.
Rising Sun
The scene then shifted to Saturday afternoon, with Switzerland County moving to the Sectional championship game against Rising Sun.
The Lady Pacers held two regular season victories over the Lady Shiners — a 5-0 win at Rising Sun on September 1st; and then a 3-0 home victory on September 13th.
For the title tilt, Rising Sun chose to pack in the defense and limit Switzerland County scoring opportunities — and the strategy worked throughout the first half, but with 35-seconds left before the half, Switzerland County’s Lauren Smith scored what would turn out to be the only goal of the game.
After a scoreless second half, Switzerland County advanced to the Regional with a 1-0 win.
On to the Regional
The defending champions of Sectional #45 now set their sights squarely on the Regional level of the state tournament.
The road to a state championship begins tonight (Thursday, October 13th) when Switzerland County travels to Clarksville to take on Providence.
The Lady Pioneers enter the Regional with an overall record of 15-2, having scored 85 goals on the season while allowing just 11.
Providence is currently ranked #2 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.
The winner of tonight’s game will then advance to Forest Park High School in Ferdinand, Indiana this Saturday, October 15th, for the Regional championship game.
The other half of the Regional title game will be the winner of the Washington Catholic (9-4-2) versus Evansville Mater Dei (11-7) match.
Evansville Mater Dei is currently ranked #3 in Class 1A; while Washington Catholic is ranked #25.
Switzerland County continues to pile up statewide honors and statistics.
Halle Archer ranks #23 in the state with 29 goals on the season; and she is #19 in Indiana with 73 points (two points per goal and one point per assist) with her 29 goals and 15 assists. She averages 1.7 goals per match and just under one assist per match.
Emma Parsons has recorded 18 goals on the year and ranks #97 with 41 points; averaging 1.1 goals per match.
Switzerland County goalie Allena Weaver is the top-ranked keeper in Class 1A in the state with a Goals Against Average of 0.22; is recording an average of 2.4 saves per match, and has made a total of 40 saves on the year. She is credited with 13 shutouts.