Hat Trick

Hayley Thornberry had a hat trick with three goals to lead the George Rogers Clark girls soccer team to a 6-0 shutout of Russell Wednesday night at the Cardinal Soccer Complex. The Lady Cardinals (4-1-1), playing their first game in six days, dominated the contest offensively, taking 17 shots on goal. Clark also posted its third shutout of the year. Clark coach Jessica Laswell credited her team's unselfishness as a key to the dominating performance. “Good passing allowed us to take control most of the game,” she said.

Josh Settle had a hat trick Friday to lead the Centre College men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Austin 4-0 at Sherman, Texas. Settle, a junior who had only two goals all season before Friday's game, scored four minute in off an assist from Austin Hall to give Centre (7-3-1, 2-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) a quick lead. He scored again in the 28th minute off an assist from Cameron Miller, then capped the scoring off a Jeremy Carlson header early in the second half.

Freshman Matt Raskin scored three times Tuesday to lead Mercer County to a 3-1 win at Western Hills to remain unbeaten. It was scoreless until Raskin scored in the 20th minute off a pass from Landon Souder. Four minutes later, Western Hills scored off of a throw-in to make it a 1-1 score at the half. "We asked the guys to pick up the pressure and use our possession skills more in the second half," Mercer coach Tim Shannon said. "And they did.” Eleven minutes into the second half, Tate Spivey sent a low pass through the Wolverine defense that Raskin put in for a 2-1 lead.

Three days after beating No. 9 Scott County, Boyle County took out another top-10 team Saturday, getting a hat trick from Kate Carman and shutting out No. 10 Tates Creek 5-0 in the final of the Little Ceasar's Classic at Rebel Stadium. Kennedy Collier had a goal and two assists and Alex Combs also scored for the No. 13 Rebels (10-2-1). Boyle has won six straight, all by shutout and has outscored its opponents 42-0 during that stretch. “Going into the game, we knew it was going to be a tough battle, and I was concerned with how we were going to handle coming back to play after a great win over Scott County.

CAMPBELLSVILLE - Danville got a hat trick from Alex Meckes and rolled past Taylor County 6-2 Saturday. The Admirals (2-1) outshot Taylor (1-2) 33-4 in the game, and Cardinals goalkeeper Sabrina Gribbins had 18 saves on the day. "She did a heck of a job today," Danville coach Marty Sullivan said. "We had plenty of opportunities and their keeper really kept them in the game. " Danville led 3-1 at halftime with goals by Alyssa Trueblood, Meckes and Krystal Jackson. In the second half, Meckes scored twice more and Jackson added another goal.

FRANKFORT - Eric Curtis had his third hat trick in three games Monday to lead the Boyle County boys to a 6-3 win over Frankfort in the first round of the Frankfort Invitational. Boyle (10-1) won its seventh straight game and moved into the championship game of the four-team tournament. The Rebels will play Owen County, a 2-0 winner over Grant County, at 8 p.m. today. With his third straight three-goal game, Curtis now has 11 goals in Boyle's last four games. "He's just finishing very strongly," Boyle coach Cris McMann said.

Asbury College's Miranda Wiley was named Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 21 to Sept. 27. Wiley is a 5-4 senior forward from Collingwood, Ontario. She put a hat trick of goals in against Trevecca Nazarene University. Wiley's goals put her up to seven on the season.

SOMERSET - The steady downpour and a muddy field presented some slight inconveniences for Somerset in the All "A" Region final, but Danville's Kayla Steber's six goals were a 'down right' nuisance for the Jumpers in Danville's 10-0 shutout win. Steber, a junior forward, actually completed her hat trick in the first 15 minutes of the game, long before Somerset made its first shot attempt. Steber scored the first five goals of the game. She scored off a unassisted 20-yarder in the second minute, got a leaping score at goal with an assist by Maddie Meckes in the seventh minute, hit a six-yard shot off an assist by Lindsey Walton in the 15th minute, made a four-yarder with assist by Kaitlin Snapp in the 22nd minute and tallied a left-footer from four yards up the middle in the 44th minute.

On paper it looked like just another chapter in the strong schedule for the West Jessamine girls soccer team. Coming into Saturday's match, Bowling Green had a 9-4 record and had outscored its opponents 64-17, including three 10-0 victories. But the Colts took care of business getting two quick goals and coasting the rest of the afternoon, 7-0. "I didn't think it would be like this," West Coach Kevin Wright said. "I know Highlands beat them 3-2 and they beat Greenwood. But we just came out early and got on them.

Abby Parsons got a hat trick to lead the Garrard County girls to a 3-1 victory over Mercer County Thursday night at Harrodsburg. Parsons' three goals assured Garrard (6-8-2) of another meeting with Mercer (4-12) just over a week from now in the first round of the 29th District Tournament. The Lady Lions earned the No. 4 seed; Mercer will be fifth. Parsons scored on a throw-in from Ashley Meadows three minutes into the second half to erase Mercer's 1-0 lead. She put Garrard ahead 12 minutes into the half on a pass from Chelsea Denny, then scored on a direct kick with about 16 minutes to play.

Josh Settle had a hat trick Friday to lead the Centre College men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Austin 4-0 at Sherman, Texas. Settle, a junior who had only two goals all season before Friday's game, scored four minute in off an assist from Austin Hall to give Centre (7-3-1, 2-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) a quick lead. He scored again in the 28th minute off an assist from Cameron Miller, then capped the scoring off a Jeremy Carlson header early in the second half.

Three days after beating No. 9 Scott County, Boyle County took out another top-10 team Saturday, getting a hat trick from Kate Carman and shutting out No. 10 Tates Creek 5-0 in the final of the Little Ceasar's Classic at Rebel Stadium. Kennedy Collier had a goal and two assists and Alex Combs also scored for the No. 13 Rebels (10-2-1). Boyle has won six straight, all by shutout and has outscored its opponents 42-0 during that stretch. “Going into the game, we knew it was going to be a tough battle, and I was concerned with how we were going to handle coming back to play after a great win over Scott County.

Hayley Thornberry had a hat trick with three goals to lead the George Rogers Clark girls soccer team to a 6-0 shutout of Russell Wednesday night at the Cardinal Soccer Complex. The Lady Cardinals (4-1-1), playing their first game in six days, dominated the contest offensively, taking 17 shots on goal. Clark also posted its third shutout of the year. Clark coach Jessica Laswell credited her team's unselfishness as a key to the dominating performance. “Good passing allowed us to take control most of the game,” she said.

Freshman Matt Raskin scored three times Tuesday to lead Mercer County to a 3-1 win at Western Hills to remain unbeaten. It was scoreless until Raskin scored in the 20th minute off a pass from Landon Souder. Four minutes later, Western Hills scored off of a throw-in to make it a 1-1 score at the half. "We asked the guys to pick up the pressure and use our possession skills more in the second half," Mercer coach Tim Shannon said. "And they did.” Eleven minutes into the second half, Tate Spivey sent a low pass through the Wolverine defense that Raskin put in for a 2-1 lead.

LANCASTER - The Lincoln County girls came out firing early Thursday against host Garrard County and did not stop until they ran away with an 8-0 victory. Rachel Spangler scored three times, Laura Estridge added two goals and Sissy Slone had a pair of assists for the Lady Patriots (3-2), who outshot Garrard 16-0 in the first half and 32-1 for the game. It's an aggression Lady Patriots' coach Jon Smith would like to see more of this season. “We play aggressive in spells. It depends on what day it is. We had a game earlier in the week where we did not play to our potential at all,” Smith said of the Lady Patriots' 6-0 loss to Mercer County on Monday.

Three girls had hat tricks for the 14th-ranked Boyle County girls Thursday night as they routed Somerset 10-0 at Rebel Stadium. Chelsea Gill, Kennedy Collier and Hannah Harris scored three goals each for Boyle (5-2-1), which had played six of its previous seven games against top-25 teams. “We've really put the girls through a gauntlet, and they responded well tonight,” Boyle coach Brian Deem said. “We played really well. ... We played very simple, smart soccer.” Alex Combs had three assists for Boyle, which didn't allow Somerset (2-3)

Chelsea Klein and Erin Bacon each had hat tricks Saturday as the Centre College field hockey team crushed Transylvania 11-0 at Farris Stadium. Klein scored one goal late in the first half and two more early in the second, and Bacon scored the last three goals for the Colonels (7-2). Sarah Humphries scored 55 seconds into the game and Leah Oberst followed with a goal just over five minutes in, and Centre was never threatened after that. The Colonels outshot Transy 31-18 and had 16 corners to six for the Pioneers (1-6)

It may not go down on the record books as a win, but it sure looked like one on the Lincoln sideline as the soccer Patriots celebrated a season-opening 4-4 tie with visiting Marion County. “I’ll take it,” said Lincoln coach Wendy Peters. “I am extremely happy starting off the season with Marion County in a 4-4 tie. We’ve played Marion for the past 10 years and never won or tied.” In those past 10 years, Marion County has dominated on the soccer field, outscoring Lincoln 35-4 in six games, including shutouts of 7-0, 5-0 and 4-0 and blowouts of 9-1 and 10-3.

The George Rogers Clark girls' soccer team ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 shutout over Paris Sunday. The win secured a third-place finish for Clark in the district. Bourbon is the top seed, followed by Harrison County. District play begins next week at the Cardinal Soccer Complex. Clark coach Bill Kirk was pleased to see his team get back on track following the losing skid. It's nice to get back to the winning ways," he said. "The early goal allowed us to settle into a rhythm and from then on, we controlled the game.

Asbury College's Miranda Wiley was named Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 21 to Sept. 27. Wiley is a 5-4 senior forward from Collingwood, Ontario. She put a hat trick of goals in against Trevecca Nazarene University. Wiley's goals put her up to seven on the season.