Hendersonville eliminated in the state semifinal

HENDERSONVILLE - The lighthearted tunes of Kool & The Gang blaring through the speakers after the final buzzer didn’t exactly match the scene as the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats said an emotional goodbye to their state tournament run and undefeated season on May 21 in the NCHSAA 2A state semifinals.

In an initially tight game that gave way to a 6-2 defeat, Hendersonville suffered its second consecutive loss to Lake Norman Charter in the playoffs after losing to the Knights last year in the fourth round.

“I think it was just what we like to call the ‘soccer gods,’” Hendersonville coach Kayla Lindsey said. “It wasn’t our time unfortunately and that sucks. I don’t like it. But our team played amazing and they got us here. We can’t be disappointed in ourselves or our season. We have to walk away with that.”

Lake Norman started the game aggressively as forward Ayden Yates crossed the ball through her opponent’s legs and past the reaching hands of goalkeeper Camryn Coggins in the first four minutes of play.

Hendersonville was forced to hustle hard to keep a powerful Lake Norman offense at bay and did not get on the board until the last 12 minutes of the half when Nikki Schedivy assisted Aubrey Bish on a goal that slipped through the top right section of the net.

The teams traded goals again at the start of the second half. Hendersonville freshman Annabelle Grymrek came off the bench to score at the 37 minute mark thanks to a second assist by Schedivy. But Lake Norman responded with a goal  in the next minute, when Yates  sneaked in her second goal of the night on a fast break to even the score.

At the 30 minute mark, Lake Norman’s Kasey Hahn found the net again to give her team a 3-2 lead.

Then Hendersonville got hit with some bad luck.

In a frightening collision with a Lake Norman player, senior goalkeeper Coggins got kicked in the face so hard that, according to her coach, she was likely knocked unconscious for a few moments. For about 20 minutes, play was put on hold as players and fans waited in stressful silence for an ambulance to arrive and take Coggins to the hospital.

“Straight fear” is how her teammate Maya Gash described the experience.

“We just love her so much,” she said. “We were scared and praying for her. We’re with her in spirit and hope she gets a lot better, a full recovery.”

“The thing about my team is they’re super close. They’re like sisters,” said Lindsey.
"What’s carried us this far is their team chemistry. As much as they wanted it, the emotion I think impacted them a lot because they were worried. Watching your captain be taken out by an ambulance is hard.”

For the remainder of the game, Hendersonville was held scoreless while Lake Norman secured its  victory with three more goals. Leading Lake Norman’s offense was Yates, who finished with a hat trick. Hahn contributed two goals and Kirsten Brady scored the final  goal on a penalty kick after the time on the clock had expired.

“They’re a solid team. They’ve always been a solid team,” said Lindsey. “(Yates) is a good player. She’s dangerous because she can move off ball and with the ball. To be able to break down and be patient and not overrun things was kind of the big factor.”

Despite the way things ended, Lindsey’s overwhelming feeling about the season is pride.

“We’ve never been undefeated for so long and we never defeated T.C. Roberson. Those are two things we did this season. Big accomplishments,” she said. We graduate four seniors: Martha Smith, Eden Hawkins, Maya Gash, Camryn Coggins. I’ve been blessed to have them. They’re a special group of girls that have made a huge impact on my life.”