It was a celebratory night for the Tyler Legacy Lady Raiders.
Jenna Barnes scored two goals, and the Lady Raiders held off a late threat by Garland Sachse to secure a 2-1 victory in the bi-district round of the Class 6A girls soccer playoffs Friday night at Red Raider Field.
Following the win, the Lady Raiders danced around and chanted with veteran head coach Chris Woodard, who exclaimed, “We’re playing another game!”
It’s a Lady Raider celebration tonight. pic.twitter.com/QWVnHR7J7j
— Brandon Ogden (@BrandonOSports) March 25, 2023
“That was stressful,” Woodard said. “It was closer than I wanted. I hate it for them, because I know what it feels like when your season ends. Kristen (Campbell), the coach, is a good friend of mine. She’s a good coach. But she’s had her times of being on the side that we’re on against us, so it feels good for us to get one against Sachse.”
With 33 minutes remaining in the first half, freshman Maya Ziegler delivered a pass nearly 50 yards toward the box, where Jenna Barnes finished with a goal. However, the official called Barnes offside and nullified the goal.
About 13 minutes later, Barnes got her goal as Ella Rose Embry delivered a long assist to give the Lady Raiders a 1-0 lead.
“As soon as I got that first goal taken away from me, I was like I’ve got to get this next one,” Barnes said. “It felt great. I felt like I was on top of the world.”
After two shots that somewhat threatened in the first four minutes, Sachse didn’t get another shot that came close to the goal until the final six minutes of the half, but Raeya Carthon was off the mark.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime.
Just less than seven minutes into the second half, Barnes was about 25 yards from the goal and fired one into the net to make the score 2-0.
“I really didn’t think I was going to get a shot off, but the keeper was out and I was like this is the perfect situation,” Barnes said.
With 19:01 remaining, Sachse (19-5-1) got on the board as Bailey Malone scored from about 30 yards out on a free kick to trim the score to 2-1.
With 8:42 left, Sachse made what appeared to be the equalizer, but an offside call kept the score at 2-1. Malone had another long free kick with 3:03 to play, but this one didn’t connect.
Goalkeeper Chloe Murlin and the Lady Raider defense thwarted away any remaining opportunities for the Lady Mustangs.
“We scored a couple of nice goals,” Woodard said. “We almost let it get away from us. But we defended hard and our goalkeeper came through for us. Chloe made some nice plays. She did well, and she has all year. She’s been a field player her whole life. I’m proud of her. And our back players did their job, and I couldn’t be any more prouder of them.”
Legacy (17-5-2) will face Waco Midway in the area round.
