CARTHAGE – The Henderson Lady Lions put intense pressure on the Carthage Lady Dawgs on Monday night, earning a 4-1 victory in a District 15-4A soccer game.
With the win, Henderson improved to 10-0 and remains in first place in the district, while Carthage fell to 8-3 and placed third behind Kilgore (9-1).
Ten minutes into the game, Kirsten Gassaway scored the first goal for Henderson on an assist from Jazelyn Garza. With 11 minutes left in the first half, Carthage's Lexi Lopez was awarded a penalty kick and fired a shot past Henderson's diving keeper Jordyn Lybrand to tie the game.
A minute later, Henderson responded and Vanessa Rutiaga deftly fed the ball to Gassaway, who tipped it past goalie Destiny Allison and into the net. The ball remained in Carthage's half for the rest of the first half as Henderson's attackers pressed hard. Garza took advantage of the gap left by Allison and fired a shot from more than 30 yards out, sending the ball over the keeper's head to make it 3-1 at halftime.
Early in the second half, Rutiaga won a penalty kick, tapped it and passed it to Garza, who just moved into the box and slotted it into the goal.
“We started with the intensity we needed,” Henderson head coach Oscar Guevara said. “[Carthage] It was a tough team. They struggled against them in the first round, but they showed their strength here. We took advantage of the opportunities given to us. ”
Carthage hosts Spring Hill on Friday, March 1st, and Henderson hosts Tatum on Saturday, March 2nd.
