Lynchburg-Clay inches by North Adams in shootout, heads into Elite 8

John Bruce, Staff Writer

KINNIKINNICK — It took 110 minutes and a penalty kick shootout, but the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs are back in the regional finals for the sixth time in the past 10 seasons. 

The Mustangs (19-1-1) outshot conference rival North Adams by a 21-9 margin over the course of regulation and two overtime periods, but were unable to beat goalkeeper Harlee Brand as the game finished in a scoreless tie. 

However, in the shootout, sophomore goalkeeper Allie Waits made two saves before senior Karlie Tipton perfectly placed her kick into the back of the net to win the shootout 3-1 and send her Mustangs into the Elite 8.

“There was a tremendous amount of pressure, but there’s also a tremendous amount of pressure on [North Adams] as well,” Tipton said. “You just have to stay calm and breathe.”

As the teams entered Tuesday’s contest, North Adams had not beaten Lynchburg-Clay in the last 16 meetings, including a 4-1 loss at home earlier this season. 

But the Green Devils (18-2) had also not lost since that time, back on Aug. 31, rolling off a school-record 15 consecutive victories on their way to their first-ever district championship.

Tuesday’s game was new ground for North Adams. But for Lynchburg-Clay, it was something that’s become normal. Over the past 10 seasons, the Mustangs have now won nine district titles with a 7-7 record in regional play.

“It’s a great feeling just to know that we can come out here and play great teams and advance even further,” Tipton said. “It’s just amazing. None of us can thank Allie [Waits] for what she did tonight [in the shootout].”

In the opening half, one team played with much more energy and dictated the pace of the game. Surprisingly, that team would be North Adams as the Green Devils controlled the tempo, outpossessed and outshot the Mustangs throughout the first 40 minutes. 

But Lynchburg’s defense of Trinity Van Fleet, Olivia Van Fleet, Ella Barber, Lainie Lunsford and Addie Downing held off the Green Devils’ attack, not allowing shots within the penalty area. 

North Adams was paced by Hunter Grooms, Laney Ruckel and Kenlie Jones on the offensive end of the field, not backing down from the favored Mustangs. On the defensive side, Tatum Grooms, Raylan Eldridge, Carlee Garrison and, especially, Jaida Mason kept the Mustangs off-balanced throughout the opening stanza, limiting them to just two shots. 

A masterful play by freshman Kensley Cornette wiped out another attack from LC to keep the game scoreless going into the break. 

After halftime, coach Dennis West’s Mustangs completely swung the momentum of the game as Karlie Tipton, Kalyn Rich and Jade Massey began to put immense pressure on the Green Devils’ backline. Miranda Smith and Aubrey Slack provided extra support from the midfield, keeping LC on the attack throughout the second half.

But the Mustangs still couldn’t beat Brand, no matter how many attempts they put on her. 

With nine minutes remaining, Massey sent a scorching right-footed shot towards Brand, who dove to her left and parried it away to maintain the shutout. 

In overtime, Lynchburg continued its assault on the goal, but still couldn’t break through. 

With the teams scoreless through regulation and overtime, the game would be decided in a penalty kick shootout. 

That’s when Waits stopped the first two shots for North Adams before Kenlie Jones scored for the Green Devils. Brand stopped the first shot for the Mustangs before Massey and McKenna Roades scored. 

Up 2-1 in the fourth round of the shootout, Watts stopped another shot from North Adams, pushing it off the post and away. With a chance to win the game, senior captain Karlie Tipton stepped up and drilled her left-footed shot to put the Mustangs back into the regional championship game.

“There were a lot of times [during the run of play] where I was scared,” Waits said, with a smile. “But Olivia [Van Fleet], our sweeper, got back and ended up saving anything that came close to me.”

Brand was a standout as she had 17 saves on the evening, keeping the Green Devils’ alive at various times. 

North Adams sets a school-record for wins in a season and ends the year with its first-ever district title in hand. The Devils only graduate three seniors in Laney Ruckel, Olivia Wright and Luvi Rhoads, and will look to build off of the historic season next fall.

Meanwhile, Waits had 10 saves of her own on the night and the Mustangs.

Lynchburg advances to play Grandview Heights on Saturday at Logan High School for a chance to reach its second Final Four, with the previous regional title occurring in 2016. 

Earlier this year, the Mustangs beat the Bobcats by 1-0 final on a goal in the final minute.

Grandview Heights is 2-0 against Lynchburg-Clay in tournament play with the last win coming in the 2017 regional final round.

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