The Pocahontas County High School Lady Warriors soccer team played two sectional games the week of October 21 – the sectional semi-final and the sectional championship.
The team is in class AA/A, Region III, Section 1 along with Braxton County, Charleston Cath-olic, Herbert Hoover, Midland Trail and Nicholas County. The top two seeded teams in the section earned a bye in the first round of play in the sectional quarter-finals. The Lady Warriors were the #2 seed, and Charleston Catholic was the #1 seed, so both teams sat out the first round of play October 22.
The Lady Warriors played in the sectional semi-final at Shawnee Sports Complex in Dunbar/South Charleston vs. Herbert Hoover October 24. They had the late game at 8 p.m.
At half-time the game was tied at 0-0. The Lady Warriors scored one goal in the second half and held Herbert Hoover at 0 for a final score of 1-0 Pocahontas. This extended the team’s winning streak to 15.
Scorer was forward senior Kira Bircher on a direct kick outside the 18-yard line, resulting from a Herbert Hoover foul.
Additional shots on goal were from forwards and midfielders, seniors Elizabeth Hefner, Sage Mc-Laughlin, Laila Calhoun, Alexa Taylor and Cloey Sharp and junior Savannah McMillion.
Defenders and midfielders, led by seniors Ameilia Rose, Emily Casto, Hefner, McLaughlin and K. Bircher, junior McMillion and sophomore Macaden Taylor, cleared the ball out of the defensive field for a season-record 93 times.
Goalkeeper junior Sienna Bircher saved 11 goals of Herbert Hoover’s 11 shots on goal, and allowed 0. This was the team’s 10th shut-out of the season.
Less than 48 hours later on Saturday, October 26, the Lady Warriors travelled back to the Shawnee Sports Complex in Dunbar/South Charleston to play in the sectional championship vs. Charleston Catholic in Catholic’s home territory.
At half-time the Lady Warriors were behind only 0-1. The Lady Warriors played tough but Charleston Catholic scored two more goals in the second half, with the referees allowing another goal although the ball did not cross the goal line. The final score was 0-4 Charleston Catholic.
Shots on goal were from forward seniors Kira Bircher and Cloey Sharp and sophomore Macaden Taylor.
Defenders and midfielders, led by seniors Emily Casto, Ameilia Rose, Sage McLaughlin, Alexa Taylor, K. Bircher and Laila Calhoun, junior Savannah McMillion and sophomores Macaden Taylor, Allyson Alderman, Rayna Smith and Hazel Riley, cleared the ball out of the defensive field 74 times.
Goalkeeper sophomore Sienna Bircher saved 23 goals of Charleston Catholic’s 31 shots on goal, and allowed three. Also blocking shots on goal were seniors Casto, Rose and K. Bircher and sophomore Taylor.
Note: Charleston Cath-olic is a private school in a AAA school district and, as such, has dominated sectional play by winning the sectional championship for the last seven years. All other teams in the section are public schools in A or AA school districts.
The Lady Warriors’ ended their 2019 season with a winning record of 16 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. The team had 10 shut-outs (aka “Shut-out Seazon”), scored 110 goals, saved 148, blocked 4, allowed 17.
Congratulations to the Lady Warriors on a very successful season!
Special thanks to Coach Shannon Arbogast, the Lady Warriors’ faithful fans, and everyone in the community who supported the Lady Warriors throughout the season.
