Keelan Nets 5 Goals, Leads Louisville Past Alumni 7-4 – Girls Soccer
Louisville 7, Alumni 4
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The Louisville Leopards Girls Soccer Team defeated the Alumni Squad 7-4 Saturday at Louisville Leopards Stadium to unofficially kickoff the new LHS sports season.
Senior Morgan Keelan outscored the Alumni herself with 5 goals to lead Louisville on offense. The two teams battled to a 3-3 halftime tie before Keelan scored 4 second half goals to lead the Lady Leopards to victory.
Leopards and Alumni Trade a Pair of Goals
The 2021 Louisville Leopards launched out of the gate with a pair of goals in the first six minutes to start the new season. Keelan scored in the fourth minute and freshman Payton Allan notched another goal two minutes later to give Louisville a commanding 2-0 lead over the Alumni.
The Alumni answered back to knot the game at 2-2. Hannah Baughman (Class of 2018) scored via a pass from Sarah Jaroszyk (Class of 2014) in the 10th minute to get the Leopards Alumni on the board. Fresh off graduation, Gabby Smith (Class of 2021) followed with a goal in the 13th minute off an assist from Kayla Gibson (Class of 2020).
Baughman Sisters Connect To Knot the Game
The two teams exchanged goals once more prior to halftime. Sophomore Natalie Lab gave the Lady Leopards a 3-2 advantage with a shot into the left side of the net.
Then the Baughman sisters connected a few minutes later to answer back. Hannah Baughman slid a pass ahead to LHS all-time leading goal scorer Rachel Baughman (Class of 2015). She laced the ball into the right side of the net to knot the game at 3-3 heading into the break.
Keelan Takes Over with 4 Second Half Goals
Just like the first half, Louisville scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 5-3 lead. A goal by sophomore Matti Benson was waived off after a delayed offside call by referee and head coach John Henkel (with some assistance for the sideline). Less than a minute later, Keelan pushed passed a defender and found an open path to the net. She rocketed the ball into the top center of the net to make it 4-3. Four minutes later, Keelan recorded her hat trick goal off a perfectly placed lead pass by Lab to up the LHS advantage to 5-3.
The Alumni managed to cut the deficit to a single goal in the 43rd minute. Beautiful passing by Smith and Rachel Baughman setup Hannah Baughman with a point blank shot on goal. Junior goalkeeper Amelia Henderhan made a diving stop on the attempt, but Gibson was able to score off the rebound to cut the lead to 5-4.
That would be as close as the Alumni would get as Keelan added a pair of goals in response to help Louisville pull away for the win. Junior Brooke Manley centered a pass to Keelan from the right sideline into the box. After a single bounce, Keelan skied her right foot to meet the ball in the air and bicycle kicked the ball into the left side of the net for what was undoubtedly the play of the game.
Seven minutes later Keelan burned past the Alumni defense for her fifth goal of the contest. The score was setup by another perfectly placed lead pass booted by Benson 5 yards in front of the midfield stripe. The score put the Lady Leopards in front 7-4 with less than eight minutes remaining.
Henderhan Turns Away Alumni’s Best
Louisville’s defense did the rest. Henderhan recorded a save on a penalty kick in the 49th minute. She later turned away some of the finest goal scorers in team history as the Alumni pushed hard down the final stretch of the game.
The Lady Leopards are now 3-0 against the Alumni all-time. LHS also defeated the Alumni 4-2 in 2016 and 9-3 in 2017.
<<< Previous 2017 | Girls Soccer Alumni Game .
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards Girls Soccer Team will next travel to Beloit to take on the West Branch Warriors in a scrimmage on Friday, August 6. JV will begin at 5:00 PM and Varsity will follow around 7:00 PM.
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