By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Simon Kenton’s bid for a girls’ state soccer championship ended Wednesday with a 1-0 loss to West Jessamine in a semifinal match that was decided by a penalty kick shootout.
After neither team scored during 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime play, each coach selected five players to take penalty kicks. Two of Simon Kenton’s five attempts were wide and West Jessamine put four of its five shots in the net to come away with the victory.
In the first round of the playoffs, West Jessamine eliminated Notre Dame, 2-1, in a penalty kick shootout. The Colts are hoping their good fortunes continue in the state championship match against Lexington Catholic on Saturday.
The Pioneers took 16 shots during the semifinal match and West Jessamine freshman goalkeeper Anna Rexford made seven saves at the net. The Colts were credited with 12 shots and Simon Kenton sophomore goalkeeper Skylin Yates tallied six saves.
Late in the second half, Simon Kenton senior forward Abby Zoeller arched a shot from the left side of the penalty area and Rexford made a leaping grab to keep it from reaching the net.
West Jessamine forward Eva Mitchell took two shots on goal during the overtime period. She slipped past two Simon Kenton defenders on the first attempt, but her shot was blocked by Yates. A few seconds later, Mitchell blasted a shot that bounced off the middle of the cross bar.
Simon Kenton’s final shot was partially deflected and the ball came down in front of the goal, but it was cleared by a defender before the Pioneers could get to it.
Yates and Zoeller took turns at goalkeeper during the shootout, but neither of them made a save. The one penalty kick that West Jessamine missed was wide. Rexford didn’t make any saves either. The Pioneers missed the goal on their first and last attempts in the shootout.
Simon Kenton finished the season with a 21-4-1 record. This is the second consecutive year the Pioneers qualified for the state playoffs as the 8th Region champion. Last year, they were knocked off in the opening round of the playoffs by eventual state champion Louisville Sacred Heart.
Simon Kenton has only two seniors on this year’s roster, but one of them is Zoeller. The all-state forward was the Pioneers’ leading scorer the last two seasons. She will continue her soccer career at Xavier University.
Zoeller and sophomore midfielder Hannah Allen were the Simon Kenton players selected for the all-state tournament team by the Pioneers’ coaching staff after Wednesday’s semifinal match.