Cascade pulls away from Tigerettes

The Marshall County Tigerettes hung tough for a half on Thursday night, but were unable to keep pace with District foe Cascade for the entire game, as MCHS dropped a 5-1 decision to the third place Lady Champions at home on Senior Day.

Aided by a strong performance from junior goaltender Atlanta Ferguson, the Tigerettes (2-10-2, 1-6-1 District) only trailed 1-0 at the end of the first half despite facing relentless offensive pressure from Cascade (8-5-1, 6-2 District).

The Lady Champions' superior skill eventually won in the second half, however, as they outscored Marshall County 4-1 over the final 40 minutes to claim their eighth victory of the season.

Although his team was unable to come away with the win, MCHS coach Mark Redferrin was encouraged by his team's effort and thought they showed signs of improvement.

"I was so proud of the girls tonight. I don't know if this was their best game of the season, but it certainly looked like it," said Redferrin. "They really played hard for our seniors tonight."

Having averaged 7.4 goals per game in their previous five District wins, Cascade bombarded the Tigerettes' net for much of the evening and outshot Marshall County 37-10 overall.

Haley Edmondson and Abby Jett each tallied two goals to spearhead the Lady Champions' offensive attack, while Cari Brown added a goal and an assist. Shelbye Stacey and Katelynn Edde both recorded an assist for Cascade as well.

Junior midfielder Clara Wilson scored the Tigerettes' lone goal of the contest. Sophia Raffo attempted a team high three shots for Marshall County, while Olivia Shultz and Abbey Redferrin each took two shots. Wilson, Callie Johnson, and Emily Spence also registered one shot apiece.

Ferguson stood up well to the constant barrage of shots by the Lady Champions and finished with 21 saves overall.

"Atlanta's just gotten better and better throughout the year. It's tough to face that many shots in a game, but she played well for us and really sacrificed her body," said Mark Redferrin.

Goalies Kenzie Henke and Kaley Clanton both saw time in net for Cascade and recorded three and two saves respectively with Henke allowing one goal.

The Lady Champions grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Edmondson won a loose ball in front of the MCHS goal and fired a low, skidding shot into the right hand corner of the net from eight yards out.

Ferguson made several tough saves over the next 30 minutes to keep it a one goal deficit, but Cascade found the back of the net again early in the second half to open up a 2-0 advantage. After settling a corner kick by Brown in the middle of the field, Jett ripped a 12-yard shot into the lower left corner of the net in the 43rd minute.

Brown then extended the Lady Champion's lead to 3-0 in the 48th minute by blasting a direct kick just underneath the top post of the goal from 20 yards out.

In the 50th minute, Marshall County cut the deficit to 3-1 when Wilson ran down a loose ball in front of the net and laced a low line drive into the left hand corner of the goal after Shultz had a close range shot blocked by a Cascade defender.

The Lady Champions quickly reclaimed the momentum, though, as Jett headed in a corner kick by Stacey in the 52nd minute to make it 4-1.

Edmondson then capped Cascade's 5-1 victory by chipping a close range shot past Ferguson in the 76th minute after running down a pass from Edde on the left side of the field.