Stepping up
Jacomen, leading Hardin Valley scorer, bounces back from injury for goal to beat Farragut 1-0
The team’s leading goal scorer this season, Jacomen’s spinning shot from about 40 yards out had a lot of carry, yet was low enough to stay just below the crossbar and into the net with only 1:42 left in the first half.
That was good enough for a 1-0 HVA victory in a key District 4-AAA showdown, ensuring the Lady Hawks (7-2-2 overall, 4-1 in district) no worse than a No. 3 seed for the upcoming district tournament.
“That kid has had one heck of a season,” HVA head coach Jessie Stephens said of Jacomen. “She got left off the list of ‘Players to Watch,’ but she’s been one of our more dynamic frontrunners for, like, the last four years.
“I think she’s made it a mission this year to make sure she leaves an imprint on every game, and she’s been a huge part of our success this season,” Stephens added about the standout forward. “I couldn’t be more proud of the competitor and the fighter that she is.
“And she was injured and banged up from the Bearden game.”
“In the Bearden game I pulled my hamstring,” Jacomen said. “… I was a little nervous coming out, but I had all this support from my team, so it was really great.”
Scoring “what I think is my 22nd” goal of the season, “I hit it and hoped for the best,” Jacomen said.
“I think we played very well,” said Elma Cooke, HVA senior goalkeeper who had a handful of leaping and diving saves. “I though we were very much a unit and worked well together. We communicated well. … I think we did great on through-balls.”
“This time last year Emma was out (due to injury) and wasn’t able to finish the season for us last year,” Stephens said. “She’s having one heck of a season. … She’s been a huge part of keeping us in games.”
Lady Hawks freshman Morgan Holloway, an outside forward, “doesn’t stop, she works and works,” Stephens said.
“And Reese Wilson, in the back, in the last part of the season she’s shown up as a standout defender,” the coach added about the junior. “She has been one of the most consistent players we’ve had. She’s got a big, strong body, she’s fast, she’s a competitor and she’s got the heart of a lion.”
Farragut (7-6-3, 2-3) had a golden opportunity to tie things, earning a penalty kick following a Lady Hawks foul in their defensive zone with less than eight minute remaining.
But the kick sail high and wide right, keeping it 1-0.
The Lady Admirals now are looking to claim the No. 4 district seed following the loss.
“I thought they played well,” FHS head coach Kristen Lyons said about her team. “I thought it was, honestly, a very evenly matched game.
“Any game you come into where the stakes are really high, seeding is in question (whether you) win or lose this game,” she added.
“The girls played their hearts out.”
Individually for Farragut, “We had quite a few players who have been coming off the bench for us,” Lyons said. “Kennedy Renfro, a junior made an impact on the game in the midfield coming off the bench. Reeder Kappel, another junior, came off the bench, and she has been playing fantastic the last couple of games.
“Annabelle Ekern always is very impactful up top,” the coach added about one of her six seniors. “Malena Maier, defensively, held her own. Reagan Miller (senior midfielder) did a fantastic job in the second half with Norah Jacomen.”
