The Cascade Lady Champions won their second consecutive Region 5-A Championship on Thursday night, defeating the Huntland Hornets at The Stable, 1-0.

It was a tense environment all night long in a rematch of the District 9-A Championship from exactly two weeks prior, but this time the hosts’ did not need to wait until the final minutes to score the winning goal.

“ means so much for all of us, but especially those seniors that got here last year and have worked hard to get here again,” Cascade Head Coach Wendy Williams said postgame, “Two times in a row is hard, and so I’m just really proud of them.”

Kelsey Shatley (7) scored the lone goal of the Region Championship in the first half

Cascade came out of the gates aggressive and much more cohesive than in Tuesday’s semifinal, and it almost paid off immediately. The freshmen combination of Lexi Comstock, Olivia Winnett, and Kaylee Martin bombarded the attacking third on Huntland’s side of the field, but it took until just past the 20-minute mark to create their goal-scoring opportunity.

In the 22nd minute, Cascade won a corner, and Martin’s picture-perfect inswinging delivery found the attacking foot of senior defender Kelsey Shatley, who’s touch redirected the ball past Huntland’s Abigail Denton in goal into the back of the net to give Cascade the early 1-0 advantage. It also was the Lady Champions’ second consecutive game with a goal from a set piece. 

Kaylee Martin (9) provided the assist for Cascade's lone goal on Thursday.

“We work a lot on set pieces,” Williams said, “but our girls are just good with their timing and they’re not afraid to put their bodies in there.”

In the 29th minute, Huntland’s star forward Hazel Reed was put into the book after being shown a yellow card for dissent after getting called for a foul in attack. Despite this, Reed continued to ask questions of the Cascade backline after returning to the game, but Shatley showcased her natural instincts as a CB as well, turning away Reed multiple times in the final 10 minutes of the first half especially.

Kaylee Martin, already with one assist to her name, also kept up the pressure against Huntland’s defense down the left wing, but ultimately could not create any other chances as clear cut as the corner kick in the remainder of the first half. When the halftime whistle blew, the Lady Champs still possessed their slim 1-0 lead.

In the 46th minute, Huntland thought they had found the equalizer, but Camilla Martinez’s shot skated just wide of the far post past the onlooking Irais Rojas. Rojas finished the match Thursday with her 7th clean sheet of the season, and her third consecutive game posting a zero on the scoreboard.

With this being the 4th matchup between these two teams, play was congested and fought for primarily in the middle third as the game wore on. Through the first 50 minutes, Huntland had only managed to muster up one shot-on-goal. However, what would have been their second in the 51st minute was instead deflected just wide of the post and out for a corner kick, jumpstarting a long spell of Huntland high-pressure that turned the heat up against the Cascade backline.

Despite this, senior Sophie Ray seemingly had her foot in and around everyone and everything Huntland was trying to do offensively, stunting any rhythm the Hornets were trying to create in attack. 

Sophie Ray (5) fends off Hazel Reed (11) in the Region Championship.

“Our midfield and defense, we just count on them,” said a jubilant Williams, “They always step to the ball, they’re not afraid to be physical, and Sophie is always moving to the ball. She never stops.”

In the 53rd minute, Piper Cox had perhaps the best equalizer opportunity of the night for Huntland on a nice cross played back across the box, but she was unable to put her shot on target, lifting it just over the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

In spite of this missed golden chance, the Hornets maintained the high pressure, and the nerves and tension could be felt more so in the crowd than on the field as the 60th minute came and went. 

Finally, just a few minutes later, Lexi Comstock found some space and time on the ball in a swift counter-attacking move, but her shot attempt near the edge of the 18-yard box snuck just wide of the near post. Then again in the 70th minute, Comstock’s left-footed volley – the same foot she scored the game-winning goal with in the District Championship – soared over the crossbar.

Lexi Comstock (8) carries the ball to relieve pressure in the second half against Huntland.

In the 75th minute, Sophie Ray was shown a yellow card for what looked to be a pretty clean slide tackle, meaning the Lady Champs would have to play without their midfield anchor for the biggest stretch of the entire game. Huntland tried to take advantage of the three minutes Ray was forced to stand and wait to sub back in, but ultimately they could not muster up a clean-cut opportunity on goal.

“Kaylee Martin did a great job stepping in for Sophie in the last five minutes,” Williams said afterwards, “we have Claire in there, we have Brinley, we have so many interchangeable parts because they’re all strong enough that we don’t lose much even when Sophie has to come out.”

Ultimately, Ray was able to sub back in with just under two minutes left to play, and she was able to help see out the clean sheet and put the finishing touches on a tense and nervy Region Championship.

On top of winning more hardware, the Lady Champions also earned the right to host Cheatham County in the State Sectional round on Saturday afternoon, and sit just one win away from qualifying for the state tournament for the second consecutive season after not having ever been in the program’s history before last year.

Cascade holds up the Region Champions plaque after Thursday's win.

“At the beginning of this season, we did not talk about it, we didn’t set that as our goal, we just set our goal as to go out and be a strong team, but as we got closer and they started to taste it, especially the ones who have been here before, they want it,” Williams concluded. “They want to get back there. I know that the freshmen don’t know what it means yet, but the rest of them, that’s what they’re working towards.” 

“I believe anything they put their minds to, they can do.”

Huntland falls to 10-6-2 (4-4) and will travel to Westview on Saturday for the Sectional round.

Cascade improves to 13-2-1 (8-0) and will host Cheatham County on Saturday afternoon for the chance to go back to the state tournament.