McMinn County's Mayson Liner shines in PKs win

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

McMinn County goalkeeper Mayson Liner was overheard telling an official before her team's penalty-kick shootout against East Hamilton on Tuesday that "this isn't my first one of these."

That became evident.

Liner saved three shots and scored another in the shootout, and the Lady Cherokees pulled out a 3-2 district win over the Lady Hurricanes.

"Once again, Mayson saves the day," McMinn coach Brittany Hart said. "I'm grateful that she trains hard; that's very helpful in times like this."

The host Lady Hurricanes (3-2-2, 1-1) took a 1-0 edge in the third minute of the match on a goal by Nicole Ford, but the Lady Cherokees started to press. They evened things up in the 36th minute after Arielle Hansford used some nifty footwork before a cross that was headed in by Gabby Poston.

"We can't continue to allow teams to stay in the game," Hart said. "Comeback soccer is not what we want to do. East Hamilton is a good team, but we have to wake up and start playing when the whistle blows."

McMinn (4-1-2, 2-0) took a 2-1 edge early in the second half on a goal by Shelby Wilson, but Ford scored again in the 55th minute on a shot from about 25 yards out.

In the shootout, McMinn scored on its final three attempts, with PKs by Liner, Abby Younce and Morgan Hutchinson. East Hamilton's made PKs were by Abie Adamson and Julia Kaset.

Lady Hurricanes keeper Abbey Saddler, a freshman, had an equally impressive night in goal with eight saves, plus one more in the shootout.

"It was a battle, but I thought we responded well," East Hamilton coach Carrie Hill said. "They are a very athletic team, but it was a good game for us. We had to dig deep and had some great opportunities.

"I'm pleased with how we played."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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