By Brady Extin | The Times-Post
FORTVILLE — Pendleton Heights closed out conference play when it traveled down the road to neighboring Mt. Vernon.
Against a tough team, and the Hoosier Heritage Conference champions, the Arabians fell 6-1 on Monday, Sept. 26.
“Playing against a team that’s only lost two or three times in seven years is tough. They’re a quality program with some quality players,” Pendleton Heights head coach Mark Davy said. “It’s just us trying to get over that hurdle mentally. They’ve got a lot of firepower, so there’s no time to rest and relax.”
The Marauders added three first half goals to pave the way for the win.
Striking first was Isabelle Hernandez with a shot from the left side of the box early in the first half.
A lapse in defense allowed Mt. Vernon to score its second goal of the night.
Addison Wong outran the Arabians defenders to chase down a pass into the box.
In an attempt by Pendleton Heights to recover, she was tripped and awarded a penalty kick. On the PK she beat goalie Priscilla Barajas to the left.
Even on a night in which Mt. Vernon scored six goals, Barajas made plenty of big saves for Pendleton Heights.
The Marauders attack was relentless all night, and multiple times in the second half it was Barajas making plays to limit the deficit. A few diving saves and a denial of a Mt. Vernon penalty kick kept things from being worse than 6-1.
Scoring the lone goal for the Arabians was Kaitlyn Prickett on a free kick from way outside the box. Her shot flew over the head of Mt. Vernon goalkeeper Khloe Patterson who had no chance to make a save.
Pendleton Heights, now 7-7 (4-3, HHC), played Wednesday night after press time against Hamilton Heights in their last regular season match.
Following that, all their focus turns to the upcoming sectional tournament.
After drawing a bye, Pendleton Heights opens up against Anderson in one of the semifinal matchups on Thursday, Oct. 6.
“I think we had a great draw,” Davy said. “The biggest thing is going into sectionals healthy. Second, we need to be connected as a team and be on the same page and just take care of business in that first game on Thursday.”
