Lady Knights tired of waiting

By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
February 14, 2004
The West Lauderdale girls' soccer team finally had to wait for something last week in its short two-year existence.
The Lady Knights (16-4-3) had their match for the Class 1A-2A-3A state title against Our Lady Academy (20-5-1), scheduled for Feb. 7, put on hold because of wet field conditions.
The two teams competing for the girls' state crown enter the match with very different backgrounds.
OLA has proven to be the traditional powerhouse in 1A-2A-3A girls' soccer over the years, while West Lauderdale is the wet-behind-the-ears up start, which finds itself in the title game with only two seasons under the program's belt.
Brown said the contrast in history between the programs may not be as much of a deterrent as it seems going into today's match.
With only two seniors in the starting lineup, the Lady Knights swept through the opening rounds of the playoffs, but West Lauderdale knows it has yet to face an opponent as tough as OLA during the playoffs.
The Lady Knights will have to depend heavily on their defense against OLA.
Emmy Joyner makes up the backbone of West Lauderdale's defense in goal.
Freshman sweeper Vanessa Uhl, eighth grade stopper Rachel Reeves, freshman wingback Maddie Leach and senior wingback Brook Bounds make up the defensive wall that will need to slow down OLA's attackers.
While the defense will be trying to stonewall OLA's offense, the Lady Knights will need to finish strong on the other end of the field.
West Lauderdale has amassed double-digit shots on goal counts against its opponents for most of the year, but the team's scoring chances may be limited against OLA.
Brown said the key for the Lady Knights will be to finish every good scoring chance they get today.