Lady Pioneers shut out by Ooltewah 8-0

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Lady Pioneer keeper Erin Wolford makes a diving save on an attempt by Lady Owl Katie Finkle in second half action, as Beth Damon looks on for Warren County. (Dale Stubblefield photo)

Offensive production has been a big problem for the Warren County girls’ soccer team, and Tuesday night was no exception, as the Lady Pioneers once again found themselves shut out against the Lady Owls of Ooltewah.

Ooltewah scored five times in the first period as Jessica Watson got the hat trick in the Lady Owls’ 7-0 win.

It didn’t take long for the Lady Owls to find the back of the net. Just 13 minutes into the contest, Katie Page put Ooltewah on the board. The Lady Pioneer defense had trouble settling and clearing the ball, which allowed the Lady Owls to capitalize on Warren County’s mistakes. Watson followed just four minutes later to make it 2-0, with Page getting her second goal five minutes later for a 3-0 lead.

Warren County had few runs on offense in the first half, but Alex Mullican and Shea Hyatt did manage to get off one shot each mid way through the half.

The Lady Owls continued to take advantage of defensive miss cues by Warren County as Ooltewah added two more goals before the half ended for a 5-0 lead.

Second half action saw Warren County do a much better job of working the ball on offense. Better movement without the ball and better passing by the Lady Pioneer mid-fielders produced five shots in the second half.

Defensively Warren County did a much better job of cutting down the passing lanes and clearing the ball back down field. The Lady Pioneers held Ooltewah scoreless for 33 minutes in the second half, but Ooltewah would add two more goals in the final seven minutes of play to take the 7-0 win.

“We didn’t play very smart in the first half,” said coach Keith Hamilton.

“The first three goals they scored came off of our defense making mental mistakes, something we have done all year. We miss play balls and that’s something that is preventable. Our defenders didn’t do their job and we have to get tougher physically. In the second half we did a much better job on defense and our offense showed signs of improvement. Our offense still has a long ways to go but tonight we did a better job of moving the ball around the field. We created better runs off the ball and our passing was much improved.”

Warren County was scheduled to take on Siegel on Thursday and will travel to St. Andrews on Tuesday.

With the loss, the Lady Pioneers dropped to 1-7-2 on the year.