Warren's goals spark Eaglettes

Sophomore striker Lauren Warren (15) had two goals in Central's win over District 8-AAA foe Lawrence County. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

LAWRENCEBURG -- Sophomore Lauren Warren netted two goals to pace Shelbyville Central to a 4-0 road win over District 8-AAA opponent Lawrence County on Thursday night.

The win sets up a key showdown with Columbia next week with the district title quite possibly in the balance.

Shelbyville (7-4-1, 2-0-1 8-AAA) got off to a hot start on a goal by Kayla Anderson less than 30 seconds into the match.

Lillie Blair doubled the score with a shot from 25 yards out in the 25th minute and the score stood at 2-0 at the half.

"That was big for us to come out and put them back on their heals early on," Shelbyville coach Neal Gordon said. "Kayla got us going early but the key goal was the one that Lillie scored on her first touch of the game. You could see that it took some of the fight out of the other team.

"She is one of three freshmen that we rely on heavily. She has never questioned her role and plays hard every minute that she is out there. No coach could ask for more than that."

Any doubt about the outcome was squelched very quickly when Warren took it solo between two defenders with less than a minute gone in the second half to bump the score to 3-0.

The Shelbyville defense, led by Taylor Bearden, Morgan Ward, Rachel Imes and Emily Cook, saw to it that the Lady Wildcats were unable to erase the goose egg from their side of the board as goalie Shelby Lamb had a relatively quiet night with just three saves.

Central's final tally was keyed by superlative hustle by Imes, who battled the ball away from two defenders and sent it over to a streaking Kali Hayse, who nudged it to Anderson.

Anderson passed to Warren who beat the goalie with a deft move to account for the final goal of the match.

"Imes came into the game feeling a little under the weather and gave us some quality minutes," Gordon said. "The play that she made leading to our last goal was just outstanding determination on her part.

"It was just what we needed from her and that kind of effort sets a good example for the rest of the kids. Hard work does indeed pay off."

Shelbyville travels to Columbia on Tuesday at 7.