SEYMOUR
It took a penalty kick shootout to determine the outcome of the Seymour-Floyd Central sectional semifinal battle on Thursday night.
The Highlanders passed three into the back of the net while the Owls mustered just two as Floyd Central downed the Owls 3-2 on penalty kicks.
The teams were tied 0-0 at the end of regulation, and neither team scored in either of the 7-minute overtime periods as each team managed only one shot during those 14 minutes.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“It’s kind of hard to get in a groove in seven minutes at a time, but I thought we responded well to the challenge,” Owls coach Greg Musser said. “It was a fun game to be a part of and it hurts to not get on the right side of it but it was a good game.”
In the shootout, Alyssa Perry and Elizabeth Hartman scored to give Seymour a 2-1 lead as the Highlanders missed their second and third shots.
“We had the upper hand twice there,” Musser said. “We put our first two in and Kate [Snook] made a big save on the second one to put us up 2-1. Unfortunately we missed the third and they missed theirs, and we were up again and all we had to do was put one more home and have a two-goal cushion and it completely changes the pressure on them.
“We put out kickers out there and unfortunately their goalie made some good saves.”
The Owls didn’t score again after their first two goals as FC goalie Shelby Smith blocked two Seymour kicks and their final kick sailed over the net while the Highlanders fourth and fifth shooters scored and FC advances to Saturday’s 7 p.m. final against either Jeffersonville, who won the late game Thursday night.
The Owls and Highlanders tied 0-0 during their Hoosier Hills Conference match on Sept. 17 and Musser was expecting a defensive battle.
“I thought it was a tail of two halves again,” he said. “I thought we ran plays a little bit more in the first half than we did in the second half. Floyd came out real hard in the second half and put us under pressure for about 10-15 minutes, and we settled back in.
“We knew what was ahead of us and didn’t disappoint.”
Lillie Wessel attempted Seymour’s first shot at 28:35 of the first half but Smith knocked it away.
The Owls (9-7-2) had three attempts from close range in the final 35 seconds of the first half but none of them went in the net.
“It was bouncing around in there and scrambles was kind of going on," Musser said. "Unfortunately their goalie made a nice save and we just couldn’t put the rebound in. We had our share of chances there at the end.”
Katie Yankey put pressure on the defense with four shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but Seymour goalie Kate Snook knocked them all away. Snook finished with 10 saves.
The Highlanders finished with 11 shots to seven for the Owls.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Box Score” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Floyd Central 3, Seymour 2 (PKs)
Shots: SHS 7, Floyd Central 11
SHS saves: Kate Snook 10
Record: SHS 9-7-2
[sc:pullout-text-end]