Panther girls clinch SEC title

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

WASHINGTON ? The Mt. Pleasant girls? soccer team clinched at least a share of the Southeast Conference title on Thursday, May 10, with a dominant win over Washington.

The Panthers shut the Demons out 4-0 to finish the SEC season atop the conference at 6-2.

Mt. Pleasant opened the scoring with 17 minutes showing on the first-half clock. Kalyssa Longhurst scored off a Demon turnover to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead before halftime.

Mary West gave the Panthers some breathing room with a couple of goals in the second half. West scored with 27 minutes remaining and with seven minutes remaining to help stretch the lead to 3-0.

Ryann Davidson put the game on ice with 1:44 remaining. She put in the dagger off a loose ball with 1:44 remaining for the final score of the game, making it 4-0 Panthers.

Mt. Pleasant also competed in the West Liberty tournament on Saturday, May 12, finishing second. The Panthers knocked off Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union 1-0 on a golden goal by West in extra time. The Panther defense had another great game against West Liberty in the championship, but regulation ended 0-0, and neither team could score in overtime. West Liberty won the tournament title in penalty kicks, out-dueling the Panthers 3-1.

Mt. Pleasant is now 9-5 overall and will host Mediapolis on Tuesday, May 15, at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers will have to wait for results from Fairfield and Keokuk this week to find out if they have to share the conference crown or if they will win it alone.