It’s never easy to defeat the same team three times in a season.Mercy found that out the hard way Wednesday night in the Sixth Region girls soccer final against Bullitt East.Mercy had won its two previous matchups against Bullitt East this year, but the Chargers were victorious when it mattered the most.Hailey Davenport scored the lone goal, giving Bullitt East a 1-0 victory and a trip to the Kentucky state soccer tournament.
“I don’t even know what to feel right now; we’re just all so excited. We didn’t think we’d make it here, but we did it. Just so excited,” Davenport said. “We said before going out, we’re going out there, we’re getting that first goal before 10 minutes. We went out there and did it.”
The Chargers will play the winner of the Fifth Region title game between Elizabethtown and Bethlehem.
Ten days after losing, 2-1, in the 24th District title game to Mercy, Bullitt East emerged victorious.The difference? The Chargers’ defense, led by goalkeeper Peyton Arnold. The Jaguars had three close-range scoring chances, but Arnold turned them back each time.
Bullitt East’s strategy to score first and limit the touches that Nikki Burba and Aubrey Crish had to attack worked well, second-year coach Kassi VanMeter said.
“We knew coming into this it would be a close game,” VanMeter said. ”Whoever scored first was probably going to win it. It’s always been 1-0, 2-1. Pretty much always one goal, we just knew we had to be the first to score and hopefully hold them off the rest of the game.”
With about five minutes left in the game, Mercy’s best opportunity clanged off the top of the goal.
The Chargers are making their third appearance in the state tournament since 2019.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA girls region soccer: Bullitt East advances to state, edges Mercy
