Soccer team shows improvement throughout season

The McLean County High School soccer team ended the regular season last week with a win on the road and a tie on Senior Night. Paulsen Stadium had a full crowd of supporters and an enthusiastic student section made up of football and softball players.

The Lady Cougars won 2-1 over Edmonson County on Sept. 26. McLean County had a scoreless game against Union County on Sept. 29.

Goalie Kyndal Daugherty was recognized this week as the all-time leader in saves for McLean County soccer. Daugherty currently leads all goalies in the state with 430 saves.

The Lady Cougars chalked up another win last Monday against the Lady Cats, 2-1. Rachel Schutte and Kyndal Daugherty scored the goals for McLean. Daugherty also had six saves in goal on the night.

McLean County had their very first game this season at Union County and fell to the Lady Braves 9-0. After a vast improvement over the course of the season, the Lady Cougars ended their final game against the same team with a tie 0-0.

McLean County had two shots on goal and several headshots throughout the game. Shelby Hawley had two headshots in a row defensively, holding the Lady Cats along the near sideline at midfield. Rachel Schutte and Olivia Frames also served up a couple headshots.

Kyndal Daugherty had two diving saves where she knocked the ball away from the edge of the net as she hit the ground. Daugherty had a total of 20 saves in the game.

“The improvement that was shown last night was unimaginable,” said head coach Michaela Majors. “The girls fought the whole 80 minutes and never gave up. It was a very defensive game; we just wanted to hold them from scoring since we lost to them 9-0 in our first game. We’ve had all season to improve and change as a team and it just shows how hard we have been working.

“It was a great game. The football players and some other students came out and supported the girls. They cheered all night long and gave them the energy to keep going. Overall, it was a great night.”

The Lady Cougars traveled Monday to Ohio County for the 10th District Tournament. They lost to the Lady Mustangs from Muhlenberg County in the first round.