GIRLS SOCCER: Battle, Gate City pull out semi squeakers

One strike Wednesday night equaled one return trip to the state quarterfinals for John Battle.

Ensnared in a defensive struggle with Honaker, sophomore Katie Barker finally broke the Trojans free nine minutes into the second half and Battle hung on for a 1-0 victory in the semifinals of the Region D girls soccer tournament at Sugar Hollow Park.

Barker was lurking at the top of the box when a deflection bounced to her right foot. She redirected the ball back at the goal and it sailed into the top shelf to end nearly 50 minutes of frustration for the Battle offense.

“I didn’t know whether to dribble it in or just kick it,” Barker said. “I just kicked it. I went for it, kind of spur of the moment.”

That was all the Battle defense – led by senior central defender Leanne Barker, Katie’s sister – would need as they stymied the Tigers all night.

“Our back line is just so good,” said Trojans coach Colleen Johnson. “They’re so dynamic together.”

The victory was the Trojans’ second narrow win in the regional semifinals in as many years as they edged Virginia High 2-1 on a late goal to secure their state berth last season.

“I can’t even explain it,” Johnson said about her team’s knack for pulling out tight games in the postseason. “They do it. They just come together as a team and they push through it.”

Honaker’s best chance for an equalizer came in the waning moments as senior Nicole Roman, who displayed more energy than a power plant throughout the night, made one last burst toward goal and was tripped up just outside the box. Roman hit a blast on the ensuing free kick, but Trojans keeper Lindsey O’Quinn reached high to make the save.

A minute later, the Trojans could finally relax after a punishing 80 minutes of physical play, which included yellow cards for both Honaker’s Victoria Smith and Battle’s Lauren Norris after they engaged in a brief scuffle late in the first half.

“It was tough,” Katie Barker said. “It was very hot. It was very tiring, but we wanted it so we went after it.”

Along with qualifying Battle for the state quarterfinals, Wednesday’s victory sends the No. 2 seeded Trojans to today’s Region D final against Clinch Mountain District regular-season champion Gate City.

Gate City 1, Virginia High 0

As usual, Anna McClung proved to be the difference.

Only this time, that difference was paper-thin.

The Bearcats defense turned in a valiant defensive effort against the top-seeded Blue Devils and their sophomore sensation, but a single lapse was one too many as Gate City claimed a tight victory in the second Region D semifinal Wednesday at Sugar Hollow.

McClung, who set a state record as a freshman with 65 goals, was tripped up midway through the second half near midfield. As the No. 3 Bearcats dropped back in unison, McClung took a short tap from Ashley Lawson into the open space and after a few dribbles finally found the back of the net with a long, high rip.

“All she needs is a couple inches and she’s gone,” said Blue Devils coach Chris Mann.

Although McClung did eventually get her goal – her 61^st of the season – the Virginia High defense gave her and the rest of the Gate City strikers only centimeters of space the rest of the night.

While the loss ended Virginia High’s season, her team’s effort left Bearcats coach Hannah Shankel elated.

“We knew if we were going to get beat and it was going to be our last game we were going to give it 100 percent,” Shankel said. “That mentality made them play with 10 times more aggressiveness than they normally would exhibit.”

Katie Crawford came up with 13 saves in goal for the Bearcats (7-7-1), while the defense, led by Grayson Collins, frustrated McClung for all but a game-deciding few seconds.

“We buckled down defensively and we played really hard back there,” Shankel said. “It wasn’t just one or two players that played well. That level of excitement put the whole team on that level.”

“As a coach,” Shankel added, “there’s no better way to end a season than that to a team that good.”

Although Gate City (15-1) was able to survive the Bearcats on Wednesday, last year’s state semifinalists will have to win without McClung to make it that far again this June.

McClung is scheduled to play in the regional final tonight, but Mann said his star has been called back to the U-18 national team camp and will leave next Tuesday – the day of the state quarterfinals – for California.

Mann said the loss of McClung will hurt, but he’s not counting his team out.

“Anna’s an amazing player, but we’ve still got plenty of talented players,” he said.

nhubbard@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Hubbard_BHCSprt | (276) 645-2543