The Republic girls soccer team continued its momentum with a 2-1 victory over Lighthouse Christian Academy in the Lady Pirate Classic at Branson on Saturday morning. The Lady Tigers had won their first match of the season just about 12 hours earlier on Friday night.
Claire Redman, playing against her former team, scored the game-winning goal with just over 20 minutes remaining to push the Lady Tigers to their second consecutive win after an 0-3 start to the season.
Lighthouse Christian struck first when Lily Ray scored after a long run with 25:58 left in the first half, giving LCA a 1-0 lead.
“After the first goal, I was kind of just like, okay, that can’t happen again,” Republic goalkeeper Awbree Berning said. “That was not the best because it got deflected and I read it wrong.”
Republic responded when Macey Mitchell tied the score with 16:01 remaining before halftime. Berning made a diving save with 14:20 left in the first half to preserve the tie. It was one of several tough saves Berning made throughout the match.
The teams remained deadlocked through much of the second half, with Mitchell nearly breaking the tie on a hard shot from 30 yards out that was saved by the LCA goalkeeper.
Redman delivered the decisive blow with 20:19 left, launching a powerful shot from about 25 yards out that found the back of the net.
“Honestly, I kind of blacked out,” Redman said of her game-winner. “I knew I needed to get a goal for my team. And I took it down the side right here and decided I was going to try and take it one-v-one. Kind of crossed somebody up, crossed somebody up, took a big touch and shot it with my left and just did my best.”
Lighthouse Christian threatened late, earning a corner kick with seven minutes remaining and having another opportunity with about 90 seconds left. They appeared to hit the left post on a shot, but it was ruled offside and would not have counted regardless.
The victory sets up Republic for a championship match in the tournament on Saturday afternoon.
“I think it’s giving us that fire,” Redman said about the team’s success this weekend. “We know we have to come out this next round and really give it all we’ve got. We really want this tournament. We want to come home with something.”
