Lady Leopards Open Tournament with 4-1 Win Over Perry
Louisville 4, Perry 1
The Louisville Lady Leopards rode two first half goals by Mackenzie Storlie and played great defense throughout the whole game in a 4-1 Sectional Semifinal win over the visiting Perry Panthers Tuesday night at Louisville Leopards Stadium.
Storlie’s first goal came after receiving a pass from Kayla Shankel. Storlie centered the ball and knifed it into the top right corner of the net from 19 yards away with 23:17 left to go in the first half. Tara Stevens set up her second goal with some fancy dribbling and a pass from the left side of the penalty box into the goal box. Storlie slid into the ball and watched it go between the legs of the Perry goalie to make it 2-nil.
Perry threatened a few minutes later and was awarded a penalty kick. But goalie Becca Springman was a brick wall as she blocked the PK and then batted away the Panther’s rebound shot. Samantha Keefe removed any threat of a second rebound by clearing the ball out of bounds away from harm. Louisville shut Perry out the rest of the half taking a 2-0 lead into the break.
About 14 minutes into the second half, Freshman Rachel Baughman extended Louisville’s lead by bending by a Perry defender near the left side of the net and sliding the ball into the empty right side of the goal. 3-0 Lady Leps.
Perry would score a goal a little later to trim the lead to 3-1, but Louisville would come right back. Storlie was tripped up inside the penalty box creating a PK opportunity. Liz Stefanik took the ensuing kick and nailed it home giving Louisville a 4-1 lead that would eventually go final.
Mackenzie Storlies runs through a tunnel of Leopards fans following Louisville’s victory. Storlie had 2 goals to lead the Leps.
The student section played a big role in creating home field advantage all night long. The sound of vuvuzelas filled the air so loudly that the Panther players had trouble communicating, especially on inbounds plays. The students weren’t afraid to help the referees do their job either. One of the Perry players had started to bleed and an observing scholar pointed it out. The player was substituted out for the play to clean up and seconds later Louisville scored their first goal.
Later the 12th man made sure the men in yellow knew that Storlie had been tripped up in the penalty box and that a PK should be attempted. The referee confirmed their suggestion and Stefanik took advantage.
The Lady Leopards soared through a tunnel of Leopards students after the contest. The tunnel served as a gateway for the Lady Leps and on the other side of it lied a Sectional Final birth against the Austintown Fitch Saturday.
NEXT UP: The Leopards will travel to Canfield to take on the Fitch Falcons in the Sectional Final on Saturday, October 22 at 3:00 PM.
PICTURES
BOX SCORE
LEOPARDS 4, PANTHERS 1
Halftime: L, 2-0 Goals: (L) Storlie, (L) Storlie, (L) Baughman, (P) Cosentino, (L) StefanikAssists: (L) Stevens, (P) Dearing
Shots on Goal: L, 27-10. Corner Kicks: L, 6-4,Saves: P Fox (12); L Springman (4), L Skolosh (4)
Records: Louisville 10-6-0, Perry 4-11-1
