Original Article on Henderson Daily News Website

Lady Lions showdown with PT moved to 4 p.m. Friday

By JIMMY ISAAC The Daily News

The agriculture industry will always come first in Rusk County.

Pine Tree and Henderson will decide the District 17-4A girls soccer championship this Friday at Lion Stadium. However, the game has been moved up two hours to 4 p.m. to allow some players to attend the annual Rusk County Youth Project Show.

Both teams have Tuesday open.

While the change could hamper some working parents, nothing should diminish what promises to be a dogfight between the perennial playoff-bound Lady Pirates (9-0 in 17-4A) and the upstart Lady Lions (8-1), whose only loop loss was at Pine Tree.

"Pine Tree has had its time and now its ours," said first-year Henderson coach Thresa Willis. "As I said earlier in the year we will not be satisfied with anything less of what we are capable of."

Macy Phenix and Madison Phenix scored two goals each, and Allison Legg added a score in the Lady Lions' 5-0 shutout win over Hudson. Willis described the match as a physical battle that helped the team prepare for its district title showdown.

"The defense played well led by Caitlin Limp, Kim Cary, Blair Glenn, Melissa Poole and Whitleigh Sharp. I was impressed with the composure shown by the girls," the coach said.

The memory of losing teammate Nati Chavez - killed in an early season auto accident - still stings in the Lady Lions' minds. Beating Pine Tree could do more than just accomplishing a team goal.

"We set out before district with two goals for the season. The first one was to play every game in which our teammate Nati would be proud, and the girls and I would say that we have succeeded so far. We have held ourselves to a higher standard for her and it has shown," said Willis.

"The second one was to win district. We have taken care of what we needed to up to this point in order to give us this opportunity."

Henderson, 15-4 on the year, will bring a four-game winning streak on Friday.

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