Brent Carden photos
Noelle Bratcher made sure Warren County's regular season ended with a bang.
The junior delivered a first-half hat trick Tuesday night in Sparta, helping the Lady Pioneers roll past White County 5-0 and carry a six-match winning streak into the postseason.
Warren County finished the regular season 12-2-1, a remarkable run that included seven shutouts and some memorable outcomes, like two wins coming in PK battles. And while it turned into a great night in the border battle, there’s always room to grow if the team wants to making a deep postseason run.
"We continue to start our matches a little slowly, but once again, the team found a way to do what we needed to do to secure the win," said coach Todd Willmore. "As a coach, it can certainly be frustrating to watch your team struggle at times, but it is incredibly rewarding to see them persevere, stay together and find a way to win even when they are not playing their best."
Warren County may have needed some time to settle in, but once Bratcher started firing, White County couldn't stop her.
Addi Steakley created the opening goal, finding Bratcher for a quality look that the junior buried to put the Lady Pioneers ahead. Gisell Escamilla provided the setup for the second, finding Bratcher near the top of the 18-yard box. Bratcher again supplied the finish to double Warren County's advantage.
Before halftime, Steakley and Bratcher connected one more time.
Steakley found the junior for her third goal of the night, completing the hat trick and sending Warren County into the break with a commanding 3-0 advantage. It was Bratcher's second hat trick of the season after she scored all three goals in Warren County's 3-1 district victory at Lincoln County in August.
The Lady Pioneers didn't stop creating opportunities after halftime.
Izzy Rodriguez added the fourth goal with an impressive individual effort, splitting a pair of defenders before finding the back of the net.
The final strike featured another player getting involved in the attack. Ella Kesey delivered an excellent cross to Escamilla, who broke through White County's back line and finished a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper to make it 5-0.
Warren County created far more opportunities than the five that found the net. The Lady Pioneers repeatedly tested White County's keeper and generated several dangerous chances from corner kicks while maintaining pressure throughout the match.
The defense made sure the five goals were more than enough.
After surrendering an early goal in each of their previous two victories over Notre Dame and Soddy Daisy, the first a late PK in a close battle, the Lady Pioneers slammed the door Tuesday and finished the regular season with another clean sheet.
"It was a strong way to finish the regular season," said Willmore. "The team continued to compete, create opportunities and, most importantly, find a way to get the job done. I'm proud of the way they stayed committed and persevered throughout the match. Now, we turn our attention to the postseason."
Warren County, by virtue of being the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament, will be at home next Tuesday, Oct. 13 for a 7 p.m. battle. The Lady Pioneers’ opponent will be decided later this week in the quarterfinals.
Video from Brent Carden’s Facebook page of Izzy Rodriguez's goal from Tuesday night.
