The third time proved charming for the Paris Ladycats who finally subdued their 2015 season-ending adversary, the Crandall Lady Pirates, 1-0, on a goal by sophomore Katy Hall with just 5:04 remaining in their pre-district soccer match Tuesday night at Wildcat Stadium.
Crandall eliminated a young, upstart Ladycat squad from the 2015 playoffs in the area round on a late goal by prolific freshman Madison Pottorff to win, 1-0.
The Ladycats thought they avenged that setback two weeks ago when they held a 1-0 advantage over the Lady Pirates with under two minutes to play in a match during the R. K. Hall & Kings Classic tournament at Wildcat Stadium. However, a midfield turnover and quick counterstrike to Pottorff, now a sophomore, led to the tying goal.
The 1-1 tie felt like a loss to Paris, which faced Crandall in a rematch just 24 hours later in the third place game. A tired Ladycat squad, playing on a nearby practice field in miserable cold, rainy conditions, lost to the Lady Pirates, 3-2.
The Lady Pirates made the long trip back to Paris for Tuesday’s third meeting with the Ladycats for 2016. It looked like the teams would settle for a scoreless decision played with a blustery north wind.
Paris had the wind at its back in the first half and controlled play but couldn’t convert. Hall had the two best scoring chances, but was unable to settle the ball for solid shots on goal.
The Ladycat midfield and defense performed well in shadowing the dangerous Porttorff, even though they had to work against the breeze in the second half. A quick counter-attack produced a 40-yard run upfield by junior Tieren Gates before Crandall managed to clear the ball to the left sidelines near the 15-yard line.
Senior Katie Chaix then sailed a throw-in over Gates’ head that bounced and was kicked backwards by a Lady Pirate attempting to clear. Hall slipped though a pair of defenders and quickly headed the ball just inside the left post into the goal.
It was sweet redemption for Hall, who ironically created the turnover in the previous tie when she slipped and fell while dribbling at midfield.
Despite having the 1-0 lead with just 5:04 left to play, the Ladycats still had to overcome an anxious final push by the Lady Pirates. Pottorf was racing down the middle of the Paris defense when an attempted tackle bounced off Pottorff’s legs and was redirected to a wide-open teammate who rushed a clear shot from 10 yards out that missed badly wide right.
Paris, now 5-7-2, is back at Wildcat Stadium Friday to host Kaufman in a pair of matches. JV starts at 5:30 followed by varsity.
The Paris JV took a 2-0 win over Crandall in Tuesday’s early match.