WARTRACE, Tenn. — The Cascade Lady Champions used four second-half goals to comfortably dispatch the visiting Richland Raiders, 5-0, in the first of two Region 5-A semifinals on a chilly Tuesday night at The Stable. 

In their first game in 12 days, Cascade had to take time to knock off some rust and clinch their second consecutive state sectional appearance, and their third in four years, and advance to the Region 5-A Championship game. It also helped that freshman Olivia Winnett, who missed the District Championship against Huntland with an upper-body injury, was back in the fold and running the show in attack. 

“Having that week off is difficult,” Cascade Head Coach Wendy Williams said, “You have to get back in the groove, but they finally picked it back up. I think having our midfield that really controls the ball well and sends it out wide, that makes a big difference for us.”

Kaylee Martin scored the first two goals for Cascade before Olivia Winnett netted a third late in the second half. Lexi Comstock and Kelsey Shatley tacked on the final two goals in the final five minutes.

Early on, as everyone was still trying to find their sea legs in the frigid temperatures, it was another freshman, Comstock, who seemed like the most likely to open the scoring. It was 50 degrees at kickoff with a feels-like temperature of 42 degrees, but Comstock seemed unaffected by the conditions once the ball was kicked off. 

In the 4th minute, the freshman forward had the game’s first shot attempt closed down well and blocked at the top of the box. She followed that up in the 12th minute with a blazing run down the right sideline, able to go around and get on the inside of the defender as she entered the box, but her shot along the ground fizzed just past the Raiders’ GK, Leah Boatright, and traveled just narrowly wide of the far post.

Lexi Comstock (8) scored Cascade's 4th goal against Richland

The opening 15 minutes were a good indication of how the game would go – Cascade dominating the possession and overall chances on goal with Richland patiently sitting back waiting for the opportunity to spring a counter-attack – but after a tactically adjustment that moved Comstock from the right wing into a more centralized role, the attacking fluidity appeared to slowly restore itself.

“She brings a whole lot of hustle,” Williams said postgame about her prolific freshman, “she’s obviously talented, and she’s going to do what she has to do to make things happen. She brings a lot of energy to the team.”

Comstock again flirted with goal in both the 20th and the 23rd minute, first with a header from a corner and then with a right-footed shot from straight on that both went just over the crossbar.

In the 24th minute, Kaylee Martin tallied her first shot-on-goal from the edge of the box, but in the end it was an easy save for Boatright. 11 minutes later, Winnett delivered a delectable through ball that opened up the Richland backline and sent Comstock in behind one-on-one with the keeper, but she couldn’t get her shot away before being closed down by a recovering Raider to make it an easy save for Boatright.

Finally, in the 36th minute, the door was busted in by Kaylee Martin. Cutting into the box and onto her preferred right foot on the left wing after a gorgeous over-the-top ball from midfielder Sophie Ray, Martin found some space to perfectly place her shot attempt in the top left corner to break the seal and open the scoring for the hometown Lady Champions to take a 1-0 lead.

Kaylee Martin (9) scored the first two goals for Cascade on Tuesday

Neither team troubled the other’s net in the final four minutes until the halftime whistle blew, but Cascade came out to start the second half with the fluid movement and passages of play that the Champions’ faithful have come to expect. 

In the 42nd minute – just two minutes into the second half – Martin poked home both her and her team’s all-important second goal of the night to take the 2-0 lead thanks to a perfectly placed and weighted ball through from Winnett. 

“I’m so proud of her. Kaylee gives 110% all the time and she’s always making those runs and trying to make things happen for her teammates, so I’m just proud of her for scoring the first two goals this time around,” said Williams.

The Lady Champions’ did not let up after doubling their lead; in fact, they seemed to ramp up the pressure in an almost endless tidal wave of attacking moves.

Over the course of the next half hour, Cascade forced Boatright into four saves while three other shot attempts ended up heading just wide or soaring just over the frame of goal.

That all changed in the 75th minute when Sophie Ray won a free kick in prime shooting position around the Richland penalty area. Up stepped Winnett, and the freshman produced a moment of magic, curling her attempt up and over the wall with the ball kissing off the far post and into the back of the net to put the game out of reach for good at 3-0.

Less than 60 seconds later in the 76th minute, Comstock finally broke through to score her first goal of the night to grow the lead to 4-0, and then Kelsey Shatley found herself in the Richland penalty area and slotted home the Lady Champions’ fifth and final goal of the night to punctuate the 5-0 victory.

Hidden behind the fact that the attack was so dominant is the play of Cascade GK, Irais Rojas. Rojas finished the game with 7 saves and tallied her 6th clean sheet of the season, including the first time all year having back-to-back shutouts.

“I’m so proud of her because this is her first year with our team, and she has really brought confidence in goal and has really stepped up for us in times that could have gone badly,” Williams concluded about her senior leader in goal. 

Richland’s season ends at 5-7-1 (3-2-1).

Cascade improves to 12-2-1 (9-0) and not only punches their ticket to the Sectional round, but advances to the Region 5-A Championship for a rematch with the Huntland Hornets on Thursday night. The location and time are unconfirmed at the time of this print.