UHA sophomore Grace Pape connected on three long-range, first-half goals, and the Lady Blazers held off a second-half surge by the Christian County Lady Colonels to win 3-1 and claim their third-straight 8th-District title Thursday night at Fort Campbell. UHA improves to 11-6, while the Lady Colonels, appearing in their first district-title game since 2006, enter next-weeks’s 2nd Region tournament at 10-8-2.
Pape scored her first in the 33′, a 35-yard bomb that dropped in over Lady Colonel goalkeeper Payton Hale. Seven minutes before halftime, Pape doubled the lead with a shot from the top of the 18-yard box. She finished off her hat trick seconds from the break with a curling left-footed shot that found the far side netting.
The Lady Colonels’ improved second-half performance paid off in the 63′ when freshman Megan Lacy headed home off a cross from fellow freshman Lilly Larkins. With just over 13 minutes to play, Lady Blazer goalkeeper Lainey Burman misplayed a ball and ran back to the goal line to try to keep it out of her net. A scramble ensued, with UHA finally clearing out of bounds. The Lady Colonel players and coaches were adamant that the ball crossed the line, but the 2-goal deficit remained and the Lady Blazers held on for the win.