LONDON — Johnson Central entered Tuesday’s KHSAA Girls’ Soccer State Tournament as heavy favorites over 13th Region champion North Laurel, going 8-0-1 during its past nine games while averaging close to five goals per game.
Kayla Bargo’s Lady Jaguars rose to the challenge, and shut down the Lady Eagles’ potent offense, while picking up a 3-0 win in the process on Tuesday.
North Laurel improved to 12-3 with the win while Johnson Central finishes the season with a 19-2-3 mark. The three-goal loss was the Lady Eagles’ first in a month while the Lady Jaguars held them scoreless for only the third time this season.
Bargo’s squad will now face-off against the winner of Boyd County and Estill County on Thursday.
“I’m so proud of my team,” Bargo said. “They played a solid game tonight. I told a fan after the game that I wouldn’t even be able to pick a player of the game because every single girl stepped up and did their job tonight. It was an awesome team win.
“We made a few changes to our lineup for this game and the girls adjusted beautifully,” she added. “Again, I couldn’t be more proud. Go Jags.”
North Laurel took a 1-0 lead during the ninth minute and never looked back thanks to a goal by Lauren Crouch.
McKinley Mastin added a goal four minutes later to push the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 2-0 while Haylee Combs’ goal at the 34th minute gave her team a 3-0 edge.
North Laurel continued to turn in solid defensive play the remainder of the game as keeper Brooklyn Mullins recorded her fifth shutout out.
