Class A/AA State ChampionshipKNOXVILLE CATHOLIC 4, NOTRE DAME 0Halftime: 3-0. Goals: Ashley Hickman 3, Camille Mancini. Assists: Mancini, Renee Seeman, Vanessa Belanger. Shots: Catholic, 13-6. Saves: Taylor Green 8 (ND); Coleen Baker 5 (KC). Records: Catholic 19-5; Notre Dame 12-6-4.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - It took 80 minutes to determine officially the Class A/AA girls' soccer state championship Saturday, but a 13-minute stretch in the first half basically decided it.
Knoxville Catholic had three goals from the 12th to the 24th minute, and Ashley Hickman finished with a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Notre Dame at the Richard Siegel complex.
Camille Mancini added a goal and an assist for Catholic (19-5), which earned its sixth state championship. The Knoxville Lady Irish almost didn't make it to Saturday's match, needing 12 sets of penalty kicks to defeat Chattanooga Christian on Thursday night.
"We had to win the game in the first half," Catholic coach Mark Leader said. "We let our opponent Thursday get in the game, but today we looked prepared, and once we scored I felt good about our chances."
The first goal came as a result of a collision in the box, with Mancini being credited with the goal after some miscommunication.
After that goal, it was all Hickman. She broke free in the 17th minute and netted a shot with her powerful leg, then added another goal in the 24th minute. Her last goal came in the 62nd minute on an impressive shot from the left side.
"In the first half they outplayed us," Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn said. "Once we got down, we couldn't connect on passes. We tried to scramble, do something, but we were three goals down at that point."
Goalkeeper Taylor Green made eight saves for Notre Dame (12-6-4). She's one of nine seniors who were playing in their final game with the Chattanooga Lady Irish.
"Overall, we struggled at spots of the season, which is understandable because of our schedule," Schermerhorn said. "In October we played well and started to click, but in this game things just didn't fall into place."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.