Lady Hatchets upend No. 6 Memorial

By Mike Myers, Sports Writer

August 27, 2008 11:14 pm

— This time, the Washington Lady Hatchets didn’t need a last second goal. But Sierra Bryant’s goal with just under 17:00 remaining at the Gwaltney Sports Complex on Wednesday might well have been an even bigger score than the buzzer beater supplied by Brittany Bozarth last week in a 1-1 tie with Castle.
Bryant, a freshman midfielder, collected a long free kick from senior Taylor Helms and snuck a shot past Evansville Memorial goalkeeper Sarah Stone for what would be the game’s only score as Washington (1-0-1) upset sixth-ranked Memorial (2-2) 1-0.
The Lady Hatchet defense, which was terrific all evening long, was tested time and again in the final 16:45 after Bryant’s goal. But each time Washington responded, particularly behind some great goal keeping from junior MaryAnna McClure, and the Lady Hatchets kept the Lady Tigers out of the goal for the shutout.
But after the big win over perennial power Memorial, Washington coach Gretchen Miles was quick to credit her entire team.
“You just can’t say enough about Memorial’s program. Year in and year out, their program is where we want our program to be,” said Miles. “We have the most respect in the world for their coaching staff and their players. It’s just an elite group. For us to get a chance to play the No. 6 team in the state and fare as well as we did . . . it’s just undescribable. These kids came ready to play.
“McClure came up with some big saves, but what you have to credit also were the 10 girls in front of her. We say our defense starts with our forwards, and everybody just came ready to play tonight and did their job,” said Miles. “And our midfield did an excellent job of controlling the tempo. It was just the effort. These kids came ready to play and wanted that shot to beat the No. 6 team in the state.”
Last week’s tie with another strong team, Castle, was a big step for the Lady Hatchets. But Miles said then her team wasn’t satisfied with a tie regardless of the opponent, and beating Memorial was another step toward being an elite squad.
“Our biggest thing is holding our composure. We want to be the team that can put a team away in that situation, not just hang on and be satisfied with a tie,” said Miles.
In the JV game, Claire Hatton scored a pair of goals, one of which came via an assist by Bryant, but WHS fell to Memorial 4-2.

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