Westview again falls just short of state trip

Posted: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 12:00 pm

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
The state tournament drought continues for Westview.
The Lady Chargers fell 3-0 to Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon in the girls’ soccer sectional. This makes the fifth consecutive year the Lady Chargers have made it to the sectionals, only to come up short.
The Lady Knights (14-5-1), in just their second season of playing soccer, will go on to play Christian Brothers Academy (18-20-2) in the Class A-AA state quarterfinals on Wednesday at Chattanooga.
Westview (15-5-1) struggled throughout the game to keep up with the speedy Knights, but the Lady Chargers held their own until Emily Whitaker scored 24:36 into the first half.
The goal seemed to fire up the Lady Knights with Whitaker getting her second goal about four minutes later.
The Lady Chargers just did not have any chances to score in the first half with the high wind facing them. Westview was limited to just one shot at the net.
The game could have gotten out of hand if not for Makenzie Vincent. The Westview goalkeeper had eight saves in the half, including some on outstanding plays. Vincent had 22 saves for the game.
“I told the girls that if we had the wind at our back in the first half, maybe it would have been different,” Westview head coach Matt Cupples said. “We had it with our backs in the second half and had more shots because of it. But, I am not taking anything away from the girls. I am very proud of their effort.”
Westview had eight chances at the net, but the Lady Knight goalkeeper Lauren Crowe had four saves.
Amber Winkelman made it a 3-0 game about two minutes into the second half for Sacred Heart.
The Lady Chargers’ head coach had a lot of praise for Sacred Heart and for its athleticism after the game.
“This is a young group that grew up together playing, and you could tell with the camaraderie out there,” Cupples said. “They know where they need to be and what they need to do.”
Shelby Donavant had three shots on goal, Kayla Guthrie and Alexus Taylor had two, Brittney Johnson and Brooklyn Steveson each had one shot for Westview.
Westview will be losing six seniors from the team, but Cupples is confident the Lady Chargers will be back in a position to go to the state tournament once again next season. Westview will have 10 juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen back from this year’s team.
This group of seniors has won more games than any other group of players, according to Cupples.
“We have won a ton of games that we probably should not have won and lost a few we should not have lost,” Cupples said. “Their leadership and example on the field builds for the future. We have a lot of young girls sitting on the bench and next year they will have to fill those roles.”
Westview will be losing Georgia Brown, Katelyn Luthi, Melissa Kimsey, Vincent, Donavant and Guthrie to graduation in May. Published in The WCP 10.30.12