GIRLS' PREP SOCCER: E'town cruises past North (9/11)

By NATHANIEL BRYAN nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com RADCLIFF — Caitlin Adams remembers how she felt when she walked off Troy Wade Field two years ago when her Elizabethtown Lady Panthers suffered a rare loss to host North Hardin: Decimated. On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers’ star senior center midfielder needed another ‘D’ word to describe her performance: Dominating. Adams had a part in all of her team’s goals as the eighth-ranked Lady Panthers routed the host Lady Trojans in a matchup of what were the 10th District’s two top squads, 5-1. “We came out and did what we had to do,” said Adams, who had three goals and two assists. “We wanted to make a statement and I think we made it.” In 2006, North Hardin beat Elizabethtown, 3-1 to end the Lady Panthers’ 43-game winning streak against district competitors and 49-match unbeaten streak against region foes. Adams and freshman striker Taylor Perkins ensured little chance of a repeat Wednesday in the Lady Panthers’ first game on the road against North Hardin since that demoralizing loss. Having been flagged offside three times in the first 15 minutes, Perkins finally broke through with 23:36 left to play before halftime when she finished off a through ball from Adams. Adams made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute with her second penalty kick goal in three nights. The goal was set up when freshman striker Tara Gilpin was fouled in the 18-yard box for the second straight district contest. Adams helped Elizabethtown (7-2-1 overall, 5-0 in the six-team district) triple its lead less than 4 minutes later when she took a pass from senior center midfielder Kaylee Gabhart, got behind the North Hardin defense and scored. North Hardin (5-2, 2-1) kept the Lady Panthers from entering the half with a three-goal advantage when junior midfielder and forward Sarah Castillo’s long ball played from the right side bent inward and banked in off the left (far) post. When the half came to a close less than 2 minutes later, North Hardin coach Hayley Yourous told her team not to panic. “I told them to just come out and play their game,” Yourous said. “We’ve been in situations against E’town which were a lot worse than that. But 3 to 1? That’s still a ballgame.” Elizabethtown, using a rotation of five defenders and senior goalkeeper Terra Lucas, wasn’t about to let the ballgame get any closer in the final 40 minutes. “After we get scored on, we step it up defensively because that can’t happen again. It’s a wakeup call for us, although we should have been playing like that the entire time. We’re trying to work on that,” said Elizabethtown sophomore sweeper Olivia Pardue. “But after someone gets one, that’s it. They’re not getting anymore.” The Lady Panthers got some more, although it took them a while to get warmed back up. Perkins, who’s second on the team to Adams with six goals, notched her second two-goal district game of her young career with 14:36 remaining in the match off a feed from Adams. “I want to push myself even more. I want to go bigger. If I score two goals, I want three the next game,” said Perkins, who scored the equalizer and game winner at district rival Central Hardin late last month. “As a team, we’re not going to let up in the second half. We’ve got to continue to push ourselves.” Adams finished her offensive spree with just 99 seconds remaining when she worked her way through several North Hardin defenders and used her left foot to slot the ball in the right side of the net. “I never let up. You have to go hard until the final whistle,” said Adams, who has eight goals and seven assists in 10 games. “I’m disrespecting the other team if I just let up on them and I don’t want to disrespect anybody.” While veteran Elizabethtown coach Rob Zoeller was pleased with his team locking up the district tournament’s top seed with almost a full month remaining in the regular season, he was not pleased with the way his team had to earn it Wednesday night. “I think there is a lack of respect for girls’ soccer programs in the area when you go to places and the fields are not mowed and prepared properly for games,” said Zoeller, whose team notched its 63rd consecutive victory against region competition in his seven-year tenure. “But when I go to boys’ soccer games or football games, the fields are always in first-rate shape.” Unless North Hardin falls into fourth or fifth place in the district standings – with the loss, the Lady Trojans fell half a game behind Central Hardin, which moved to 3-1 in the district Thursday night with a 4-2 win at Meade County – North Hardin won’t see Elizabethtown again unless both teams make it to the district finals next month at Central Hardin. “This wasn’t the game we had to win,” Yourous said. “Regular-season games are for learning and finding out your weaknesses.” Elizabethtown won the junior varsity game, 7-0. UP NEXT: Elizabethtown plays at sixth-ranked Lexington Catholic at 8 p.m. Tuesday in its first game of the Lexington Catholic Cup. North Hardin plays at Louisville Eastern at 5:30 p.m. today. Nathaniel Bryan can be reached at 505-1758

Jill Pickett

Elizabethtown's Taylor Perkins pulls back to drive in a shot around North Hardin's LaCheynna Washington for a goal during Wednesday's game at North Hardin High School.

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Jill Pickett

North Hardin's Kaela Vessels plays the ball off her head during Wednesday's game against Elizabethtown at North Hardin High School.

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Jill Pickett

Elizabethtown's Kayla Laisy tries to break free from North Hardin defenders during Wednesday's game at North Hardin High School.

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