Maybe it was the carryover from a tough loss earlier in the week to Bowling Green. Maybe it was playing on a warm and muggy Saturday afternoon with the threat of rain and thunderstorms hanging in the air. Whatever it was, the UHA Lady Blazers overcame it quickly on their way to an 8-2 rout of the McCracken County Lady Mustangs.
The match got off to a tough start for UHA as McCracken County scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match to take a 2-0 lead. Katie Caruthers scored goals at the 6:52 and the 9:15 marks to get the Lady Mustangs off and running, and in early control of the match.
However, the Lady Blazers battled their way back on two goals from Lilly Strader. Strader scored at 10:50 and again at 15:57 to even the match up at 2-2.
After that the two teams battled for the rest of the first half, with neither being able to get anything to the net, and the half arrived with UHA and McCracken County tied at 2-2.
When play began in the second half, it took just over nine minutes for the Lady Blazers to effectively take full control of the match. Alex Juckett scored two minute into the half to make it 3-2.
UHA kept the offensive onslaught going. Kate Cansler scored the first of her three goals at the 47:45 mark to make it 4-2. Lilly Strader then completed her hat trick at 49:25 to extend the lead to 5-2
Cansler found the net again at 63:30 to push the lead out to 6-2. UHA kept on rolling as Ashlyn Parker got in on the scoring at 68:00 to make it 7-2. Then, at the 78:00 mark, Cansler completed her hat trick and the scoring for the day as she made it 8-2.
In addition to the strong 2nd half offense, the Lady Blazers gave a great defensive effort, especially over the final 70 minutes of play. Piper Hancock was especially strong on the back side of the defense.
The win improves UHA to 5-1 on the season. They will return to action Monday at Murray in the sectional round of the All A Classic.