Eagles Earn Trip To State

Senior Brittany Trawick's shot from the top right corner of the penalty box crossed in front of and over Lithia Newsome goalkeeper Kendall Graham with 3:18 left in overtime, giving the Eagles a 1-0 win in front of about 200 fans Friday night.

Jenkins, the defending Class 5A state champ and still undefeated at 25-0-1, will face Fleming Island in the state semifinals Feb. 13 at Pepin Stadium in Tampa.

"That was a world-class finish," Jenkins head coach Joe Lenard said.

Teammates mobbed Trawick after her goal, releasing all the tension built up during a physical, evenly-played match. There were 24 penalties in the match, and neither team was able to control play.

The winning goal was set up when Kayla Bala tried to gain control in the penalty box, but the ball was knocked out. Trawick stepped right into the shot and placed it in the only place Graham couldn't get to it.

"I was trying to get it as far post and as far away from her as I possibly could," Trawick said.

Lenard started shouting "Get in!" as soon as Trawick took the shot, and he said he knew it was in all the way.

"I had the perfect angle," Lenard said.

He said he expected a physical match and that at times he felt like his team could have been more aggressive.

Newsome had three yellow cards in the match, while Jenkins had none.

Lithia (23-4-1) had chances to score, especially on free kicks. Most of the Wolves' shots, though, ended up cleanly in the hands of Eagles goalkeeper Caitlyn Curry.

"They're not undefeated for nothing," Wolves head coach Kelly Townsend said.

George Jenkins' best scoring chances before the goal came off throw-ins deep in Lithia's zone. Emily Rice put her throws right into the penalty box, but Graham was aggressive in coming out to play the ball and the defense didn't allow any clean shots.

Bala, the Eagles' leading scorer, didn't have much room to create during the match. Her best scoring chance came on a free kick from about 30 yards out that Graham easily saved.

Jenkins' persistence paid off in the end, though, and now the Eagles are a step closer to defending their title.

"We're really determined," Trawick said. "We have a really young team, but I think that (the underclassmen) are just as ready as we are to get in there and hopefully when another one."

If the Eagles win the semifinal match against Fleming Island, the state championship is scheduled for Feb. 14 at about 5 p.m.

That match would be against the winner of Palm Harbor and Satellite.