For their first game of the IHSAA Sectional 27 competition, the Lady Cadets faced a familiar opponent in the Lady Vikings of West Vigo High School. The two schools had already played each other two times in the past season, August 17th and September 12th, and a marked improvement in the play in the month between the first and second game foretold of a very competitive third game. Because the winner of this game would be assured a spot in the Championship, the pressure of the game was ratchetted up even more. The Lady Cadets came into the game with over a full week’s rest between games and a 6-7-2 record. The Lady Vikings’ record of 6-10-1 was a little misleading. With over half of the Vikings’ games decided by one goal, the Lady Vikings were used to playing with additional pressure and the expectation of an intense game from start to finish. The Lady Cadets were able to put their best lineup on the field after a full week of rest and recovery. In the opening minutes of the first half, the Lady Cadets controlled the pace of the game and took some really good shots on the West Vigo goal. Despite the fact that these shots never materialized into a goal these opening shots helped set the tone for the Cadets in the game. This fast paced offensive rhythm kept the Lady Vikings in the defensive end of the field for much of the first half. West Vigo was only able to organize a couple of offensive attacks against the Lady Cadets in the first half producing only three shots. Unfortunately, one of these three shots was from a short distance in front of the Cadets goal and the Lady Vikings took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The shocking goal scored by the Lady Vikings with about 3:00 remaining in the first half rattled the teams and changed the halftime conversations of both coach staffs. For the Cadets, the coaching staff started to think about a formational change early in the second half just before the game tying goal was scored by Anna Burns. After Ruthie Trump was fouled deep in the Cadets’ offensive end, Anna Burns quickly set the ball onto the field and tried to restart the play. But a West Vigo player was called for delaying the restart and this gave time for Anna to think about her shot which she perfectly tucked into the top corner of the goal for her twelfth goal of the season. With the score now tied 1-1, the Lady Cadets altered their formation to put more players up front and have more space in the midfield for players to dribble and run. As more space was created in the midfield with the Cadets formation change, the game started to find a flowing pattern up and down the field that created more shots for both teams. Neither team found a tie breaking goal despite the good shots until Regan Franklin recovered the ball directly from the Lady Vikings defense. After Regan stole the ball, she pushed the ball quickly up the field and found Anna Burns spaced right in front of the goal. Anna’s one touch shot into the back of the net put the Lady Cadets up now 2-1 with about 20:00 remaining. West Vigo responded to the 2-1 deficit with a renewed effort against the Lady Cadets defense. Good defensive movement and goalie play by the Lady Cadets neutralized most of the attacking efforts that the Lady Vikings could organize in the last minutes of the game. The last goal of the game was scored again by combination play between Anna Burns and Regan Franklin. After the Cadets’ defense stopped another offensive run by West Vigo, the ball was passed out to Regan on the right wing who took two aggressive dribbles up the field and played a perfect through ball to Anna Burns in the open field. Anna settled the ball, slowed down her pace, and struck a strong shot into the back of the net. Anna’s third goal of the game gave the Cadets a 3-1 lead and helped secure the victory in a very evenly matched girls soccer game between Cascade and West Vigo. The 3-1 victory for Cascade moves the Lady Cadets record to 7-7-2. The Lady Vikings season ends with a 6-10-1 record. The Lady Cadets look ahead to the Sectional 27 Championship game against the Danville Lady Warriors on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The Lady Warriors defeated Edgewood 1-0 in the earlier game on Thursday evening and are 11-7 entering Saturday’s championship game. Final Cascade 3 West Vigo 1 Goals/Assists: Anna Burns (12) 35.:14 2H Anna Burns (13) 24:58 2H A: Regan Franklin (4) Anna Burns (14) 3:54 2H A: Regan Franklin (5)