#15 PCHS (7-8-1)....................0

#8 Midland Trail (14-6-1).......1

The #15 (10/15/2011 final ranking) PCHS Girls Soccer Team traveled over Kennison Mountain to Hico in Fayette County October 17 to #8 Midland Trail High School, for an opening game in combined Class A/AA Region 3, Section 1 post-season play. ﾠThe Lady Warriors were playing without the services of two starters, senior all-state and tri-captain Lyndsey Barlow and improving sophomore Makeia Jonese, who were out for the season due to injuries. ﾠIt was a warm, sunny fall day, but the field was muddy, soaked and slick due to recent heavy rain and poor field drainage. PCHS was looking to knock off Trail for the third straight season in sectionals after winning 2-1 in 2010 and 3-0 in 2009.
Trail was edged by PCHS at Hico the end of September, 2-1. ﾠIt soon became clear that the defensive units of both teams were not going to give an inch, and the poor field condition was going to stymie both offensive units. ﾠAfter 80 minutes of regulation play and two 10-minute overtime periods, the score remained 0-0. ﾠThe second overtime period will fester in the memories of PCHS fans and players for a hands no-call on a Midland Trail player in the box that should have been rewarded by a PCHS penalty kick. ﾠAssistant coach Steve White confirmed what this reporter saw- ﾠthat the Trail player batted the ball out of the way with her hand. After a five minute sudden death third overtime period, the game remained a scoreless tie. ﾠExactly half-way through the second 5-minute sudden death overtime period, with 2:30 to go before a shoot-off would have been required to name a winner, PCHS goalie Lorena Rose dove into the mud on her belly to stop a long Trail shot-on-goal. ﾠThe ball got loose and was quickly kicked by junior Mindy Sevy of Trail for the 1-0 score that ended the match after four overtimes and 107.50 minutes of play.
PCHS only had three bench players and Trail had 14 subs listed on their roster. ﾠThe Lady Warriors were exhausted after playing their hearts out, and two seniors, tri-captains Erin White and Erica Rebinski, were devastated to be ending their high school soccer careers earlier than the three previous years. ﾠSophomore goalie Lorena Rose made great save after great save, 19 in all, all night long. ﾠThe PCHS defenders of Rebinski, junior Kristen Beverage and sophomores Rachel McComb and Jessylan Hamilton kept Trail's group of power-kickers in tow all night long down to the final unfortunate play.
Note needs to be made of White's constant quick, accurate throw-ins and guidance to two very fast and improving freshmen, Harley Francisco and Heather Pritt,ﾠplaying up front in new starting roles. Junior Olivia Workman collapsed in pain leaving the field after stopping attack after attack and executing excellent passes in the center of the field all evening long. ﾠHigh scorer, junior Sam Walton, was tough as always, but she was double and triple-teamed all night long.
Walton again led the team in shots-on-goal with 7, followed by White - 4, Pritt - 2, Francisco - 2, junior Claire Mosesso - 1 and Workman - 1. PCHS led on both corner kicks 5-3 and on direct kicks 11-3. ﾠPCHS is the #2 Class A public school team in West Virginia, and Trail is the #1 public Class A team, and all other teams in their region were Class AA teams. ﾠNine teams in the final rankings, including the top-3, faced the Lady Warriors, and only Trail was a Class A team.

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