District 5-AAA TournamentCLEVELAND 1, MCMINN COUNTY 1 (Cleveland 4-2 PKs)Halftime score: 1-1. Goals: Hannah Ellis (C); Arielle Hansford (MC). Penalty-kick goals: Megan Barker, Leanne Indovino, Alex Hutt, Bayleigh Ellis (C); Katelyn Hutchison, Nikki Hayes (MC). Shots on goal: Cleveland, 10-6. Saves: Hayes 5 (MC); Jenna Scoggins 3 (C). Records: Cleveland 10-7-3; McMinn 12-8.
ATHENS, Tenn. - Jenna Scoggins might not be big in stature, but on Wednesday night with the season on the line, the Cleveland freshman keeper played larger than life.
Scoggins finished with three saves, and added another in a penalty-kick shootout, as the Lady Raiders advanced to the District 5-AAA championship game with a 4-2 shootout win over McMinn County in Athens. Cleveland (10-7-3) will now travel to face Soddy-Daisy, who defeated Ooltewah 4-0 on Tuesday, tonight at 7 at Soddy-Daisy.
The match actually started on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m., but play was suspended tied at 1 going into the second 10-minute overtime session due to the rainy, wet conditions. Play restarted on Wednesday at that exact point.
Cleveland coach Andy Byrd felt good about his team going into the second day of action.
"I saw a few girls walking the halls today at school, and they seemed to have that look that there was unfinished business," Byrd said. "It felt good because it showed me they were focused on tonight."
Even so, neither team was able to score in the 20 minutes allotted each team prior to the penalty kicks, which led to the shootout.
McMinn keeper Nikki Hayes saved the first Cleveland shot attempt, but Megan Barker, Leanne Indovino, Alex Hutt and Bayleigh Ellis scored for Cleveland. McMinn's Katelyn Hutchinson scored first for McMinn, but Kelaiah King's shot glanced off the pole then Scoggins saved Haley Ward's shot attempt, ranging to her right to make the stop.
"I just felt like I knew where it was going," Scoggins said. "I knew I was going to stop one before the shootout started, and getting a save really built up my confidence because I knew my team trusted in me."
After the Scoggins save, Hutt and Ellis put the game away.
McMinn's Arielle Hansford scored the first goal in regulation, but Hannah Ellis responded with a goal to tie things up in the first half of the match.
"I thought we were very focused and intense. We were able to get into their defensive end and get some shots off," McMinn coach David McDonald said. "We listed some key points to be successful, and I was pretty pleased with the overall outcome. We have a young group of kids, and they're going to get bigger, faster and stronger over the offseason."