Hot Springs got off to a strong start, but two quick goals by Sheridan midway through the first half gave the Lady Yellowjackets a 2-1 win at Tommy J. Holt Stadium.
After an off-target shot by the Lady Yellowjackets in the fourth minute, Hot Springs midfielder Emma Gomez took the Lady Trojans' first attempt before junior forward Emily Hedrick jammed in a right-footed shot past junior Sheridan goalkeeper Katelyn Hancock with 7:10 off the clock for a 1-0 lead.
"They came out, and they played hard," said Sheridan head coach Kirby Johnson. "They were aggressive. Nothing we weren't expecting, but we just weren't -- I guess maybe starting off the game ball's wet, field's wet and all that stuff. We kind of let a howler in for the for their goal, and that's one our keeper normally stops. You know, she hadn't let one in like that all season. But they kept putting the pressure on us, and they've got a couple of good players there."
The Lady Trojans got three more attempts, two on target, before Sheridan had a pair of off-target attempts near the midpoint of the first half. With 21:35 off the clock, Sheridan senior forward Jameson Archer hit a right-footer under the outstretched arms of sophomore keeper Deitie Hale to even the scoreboard.
Archer picked up her brace less than six minutes later as she skidded a left-footed shot into the far side of the goal for a 2-1 lead with 12:27 left in the half.
Hot Springs took three shots going into the final 10 minutes of the half, but none of them hit paydirt. Sheridan added two shots in the final three minutes of the half, the last a rocket in the 38th minute from Archer looking for her hat trick, but it hit the crossbar.
"Offensively, I felt like we had a lot of opportunities over and over, but we just were not executing," said Hot Springs head coach Heidi Springsteen. "So I'm not sure kind of how that you know what happened there. I'm going to watch the film, but just in general, I thought they played great. It was great competition. I'm so proud of them. It was a good game."
The Lady Trojans came out hot in the second half keeping the ball on Sheridan's end of the pitch for most of the first 10 minutes before the two teams balanced each other out with attempts. Hot Springs had five shots on goal out of seven in the final 40, looking for the equalizer while Sheridan had just two on-target attempts out of nine.
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Hot Springs vs. Sheridan girls
Sheridan took a 2-1 win over Hot Springs Friday night at Tommy J. Holt Stadium.
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"We might have won the game, but this was by far not one of our better performances," Johnson said. "We were having trouble connecting a few passes here and there. But it shows a lot of heart and determination out of our girls just because -- I mean, we're playing this game. We've got three starters out right now, including our best all-around player. And so to come here without three of your better ones and to get a result on the road. In our conference, it's always a good thing. This conference is tough, top to bottom. All the coaches know what they're doing. It's just good for us to come down here and under these circumstances get a win."
Hancock finished the night with 10 saves and a block with one conceeded goal while Hale allowed two goals with four saves and three blocks. The Lady Trojans had 11 of 15 shots on goal compared to 6 of 17 by the Lady Yellowjackets.
"We've got a mix of, you know, juniors, sophomores and freshmen actually all out there playing together," Springsteen said. "They're a really nice group of girls that get along really well. So there's a real family feel. Karen (Yates) has done such a good job as our captain to make it feel very much like a family, and the freshmen that have come up have made it a lot stronger just as a group. You know, they're just -- skill wise, they're all at a better place than we normally are. There's still a lot of things to work on, but just as a whole, they're playing so much better. And that, you know, I was so proud of the way they started. Just a lot of possession, control."