“It went in and that’s all that matters,” grinned Notre Dame’s Carey Leiper when asked about her match winning goal. “I knew it was a good cross, but I didn’t know if it went off my head right,” she continued, standing with mud splattering most of her uniform and body. To be true, though, Leiper wore the mud like a badge of honor. The goal in question came in the 70th minute of play against Silverdale Baptist Academy. The assist came from Kathryn Healy. The 1-0 win puts Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn into his eighth state tournament in his eighth year as the Lady Irish head coach.

The state-tourney bound coach had this to say about the game just completed, “It was a battle. We did everything we could just to get the win. We had lots of chances, great chances; we just couldn’t put the ball in the net.” Notre Dame’s highest finish in the state dance with Schermerhorn has been an exit in the semi-finals.

“Take nothing away from the Silverdale team, they are a good team and great competitors,” he continued. “This has been such a strange year. We’ve played so many times in just these type of conditions. Our girls did a great job of adjusting to the weather. These field conditions make it hard when you’re passing the ball and we did it pretty good.”

Meanwhile Lady Seahawk coach Dana Fouts said, “I don’t really think the mud hindered us all that much. Really, it was more of a lack of a deeper bench.” The first-year coach went on, “This was one of our best games as a three-year program. To hold a team like Notre Dame for 70 minutes was a great accomplishment.”

Looking ahead, she was optimistic, “We only lose four seniors this year and I’m excited about next year. Along with any of the incoming freshmen we pick up we also gain Hannah Squires.” Squires is a high-scoring transfer from Ooltewah who had to sit out this past season.

The first half of the contest was a battle as each team worked hard to get the ball into the crease. The usually adept dribblers for each time were all tentative as they moved through mud, soggy field sections and puddles of water along each sideline. It was so soggy that the squish of the player’s shoes could be heard high up in the press box at Seahawk Field.

Opportunities were rampant for the Lady Irish, but as Coach Schermerhorn had explained, they just could not take advantage. In the 42nd minute Leiper had a hard shot gobbled up by Lady Seahawk keeper Lauren Pruitt.

This was followed up less than 2 minutes later with sophomore forward Sophie Mullin exploding a hard shot from the right corner that banged off the post. Leiper had another chance at a goal with 18:47 left in the match when Pruitt got caught out of the crease. With too much time to think about it, the talented center sent the ball high over the net.

Silverdale had its share of performers, as well, in this battle for the sectional championship. Abbie Alosi had a good game going until she went down with a hip injury and had to leave the game and be transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. Bonnie Buckley and Ryan Alosi along with Anna Ioannidis also played well for the Lady Seahawks.

The Lady Irish will learn of their first-round opponent and location Sunday following a blind draw among all state tournament qualifiers in the A/AA bracket. The first two rounds of the A/AA tournament will be played at Chattanooga Christian School and the championship will be at Girls Preparatory School on the North Shore.

Score at half: 0-0

(You can contact Dennis Norwood at ladyvols56@att.net)