Even with close soccer loss, Polk expects to enter state tourney

Mix two excellent soccer teams, and one might witness this result: For 40 minutes of regulation, neither Polk County, nor visiting Hendersonville was able to put the ball into the opposing net, though both teams had some opportunities that were met with great goal defense.

For the record, this is what Polk County and Hendersonville fans saw on the evening of Wednesday, May 4 at Columbus.

The scoreless scenario continued through two ten-minute overtime periods, until the Bearcats managed a 3-1 advantage in the penalty-kick phase, to leave the field victorious in a match marked by unexpected rain showers, and expected fine defense.

Even with the Western Conference Highlands loss (technically, the match is listed as ending at 0-0, with the Bearcats winning, 3-1, on kicks), Polk is still 14-4 overall, and 10-2 in the WHC, with state tournament play on the near horizon.

Hendersonville upped its marks to 17-3-1 and 11-1, respectively. There’s a good chance the two teams will meet in the playoffs.

“We have a chance to make some noise in the post-season,” remarked Polk head coach Lennox Charles.

This was not the first nail-biter against the Bearcats, Charles noted.

“We’ve had a few of these with Hendersonville. They certainly did make adjustments. We struggled a lot to get ourselves into some kind of rhythm . . . our girls responded well in terms of determination,” said Charles.

In the penalty kick portion, only Caroline Lee, who will be playing soccer for Northeast Louisiana University, was able to score for the Wolverines.

On April 29, the Wolverines scored a 2-0 win at Avery County.

Wednesday’s match against Hendersonville was Polk’s last home match of the season.