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By Guest Columnist Jim Asher
Zebulon - After a week that saw the Pike County Lady Pirates easily handle two Region opponents, Monday night was not as nice.
On Tuesday, April 10th, the Lady Pirates traveled to Lamar County for a rematch with the Lady Trojans. Despite a slow start, Pike County held a 2-1 lead at half time after two goals by Freshman Abbey Thompson. Following the break, the Lady Pirates turned up the heat and pulled away for an 8-1 victory as Thompson added a third tally, to complete a Hat Trick, and Freshman Bailey Rawlins added two goals while Junior Jessi Johnson and Freshmen Ashley York and Kristen Beckham added one goal each.
On Friday, April 13th, Pike County, dressed out in pink jerseys for Breast Cancer Awareness, hosted the Monticello Lady Hurricanes for Senior Night, as they recognized the Seniors who are playing their last season as Lady Pirates. As they had in their previous meeting, Pike County took control of the game early and relentlessly pressured the Monticello defense. The scoring began quickly when York placed a shot into the net off an assist from Johnson. A short time later, York and Thompson teamed up to provide Johnson with an assist giving the Lady Pirates a 2-0 lead. With the 1st half still young, Seniors Caylie Mahaffey and Lindsey Thompson lit the scoreboard with goals leading to a 4-0 half time lead. In the 2nd half, the Lady Pirates continued to push forward and quickly added goals from Sophomores Victoria Reid and Amy Mangham. With the score standing at 6-0, Junior Goalkeeper Taylor Asher entered the match as a field player and quickly put her mark on the game, hitting a distance shot from about 20 yards out. Shortly thereafter, Asher provided an assist to fellow Junior Elizabeth Woodall when she placed a corner kick into the box that allowed Woodall to poke the ball into the net. The scoring wrapped up just before the final minutes ticked off when Sophomore Kelsey Swanson added the final goal for a 9-0 victory.
On Monday, April 16th, the Lady Pirates hosted the Lady War Eagles from Putnam County in a bid to avenge their only Region loss of the season. On a rainy evening, Pike County never got their game in gear and Putnam County was able to control vital minutes as they struck for two goals in the first half. The Lady Pirates were unable to answer and suffered their second loss of the season to the Lady War Eagles.
The loss to Putnam County eliminated the Lady Pirates from the Region Title chase and set up a must win situation on Friday, April 20th, when they travel to Morgan County. If the Lady Pirates are to host their 1st round game of the State AA Playoffs, they will have to defeat the Lady Bulldogs and cement their 2nd place standing in the Region.
The Lady Pirates will play their final Regular Season game on April 25th when they host the Brookstone High School Lady Cougars in a non-Region contest. With the county schools being on Spring Break, this would be an excellent opportunity to come out and show your support as the girls finish out the season. The playoffs will start on Friday, May 4th, with an opponent, time and location to be determined.