Phillips lifts Patriots in shootout

MARION - As a defensive player, Kayla Phillips rarely gets the chance to score a goal. With the season on the line, she made the most of her opportunity.

The senior's score during a penalty-kick shootout Tuesday lifted the Jay County High School girls soccer team to a 3-2 victory over the South Adams Starfires in the quarterfinal round of the sectional tournament.

The game at Ballard Field was tied 2-2 after regulation and at the conclusion of two seven-minute overtime halves, leading to a 5-on-5 shootout. That also ended in a tie, 3-3, setting the stage for a sudden death shootout with the season hanging in the balance.

Phillips, the first shooter for the Patriots, converted and goalie Mollie May rejected the first South Adams attempt to end the game.

Jay County will play in the semifinal round Thursday at 7 p.m. against Huntington North, which defeated Norwell 2-1 Tuesday. Huntington North topped the Patriots 3-0 in the second game of the regular season.

JCHS (5-8-1), which lost 1-0 to the Starfires in the regular season, led for a stretch of nearly 50 minutes Tuesday after LeAnn Horn scored the game's opening goal. Her tally came from a Phillips assist with 20:59 on the clock in the first half.

The score remained 1-0 until South Adams forged a tie with just 12 minutes left in the game. The Starfires then took the lead with 4:31 on the clock, but Jay County refused to go away.

Less than two minutes after her team fell behind, freshman Sammi Compton tied the game with a shot just over the goalie's head.

After the scoreless overtime periods, Lindsay Moser, Nikka Chaney and Andrea Bruggeman each converted penalty kicks in the 5-on-5 shootout. Phillips and May (eight saves) then combined to finish the game on the first shot of the sudden death shootout.[[In-content Ad]]