The 4th Region All-A Classic girls’ soccer semifinal match between the Todd County Central Lady Rebels and the Russellville Lady Panthers was one of grit, determination, stamina, and heart for both teams Saturday. Both the Lady Rebels and the Lady Panthers only dressed 11 players for the match, which meant if someone needed a break or got dinged up, their team had to play shorthanded until they could return to the field.
The saving grace Saturday in Elkton was that weather conditions were near perfect, with pleasant temperatures and a comfortable breeze blowing across the pitch at Todd County Central High School.
The Russellville Lady Panthers got a goal in the early part of each half and then held off a furious effort by Todd County Central coming down the stretch of the second half as they held on for a 2-1 win.
The Lady Panthers got on the board at the 7:00 mark when senior Emily Stapleton got loose on a run down the middle of the field and put the ball into the net to give Russellville the early 1-0 lead. While the Lady Panthers seemed to control the time of possession and the pace of the game for the rest of the half, they were not able to extend the lead and the one-goal margin was still in place at the break.
Russellville appeared to seize control of the match early in the second half when Jermani Morris broke clear running down the right side and drilled the shot to extend the lead to 2-0 at 53:30.
But, from that point on, the Lady Rebels took over pressure, ball control, and shots on goal. The problem turned out to be that they just could not find a way to get one into the net, even though they had numerous opportunities over the final 25 minutes, many of those adding to the gray hair count on the Russellville sideline.
The Lady Rebels finally broke through at 71:45 when Madison Henderson put one in from out in front of the net to cut the lead to 2-1.
Todd County Central would continue to increase the pressure, but could not manage to get a tying goal into the net as the Lady Panthers held on tight for the win.
The Lady Rebels are set to get back to action Tuesday when they hit the road to Logan County.
