HENDERSONVILLE — Pope Prep improved to 6-0-1 on the pitch Thursday night, defeating Clarksville High School 4-0 behind a hat trick from sophomore Katie Shea Collins.
Collins also contributed to Katie Whiting’s goal just before the half following her shot that hit the crossbar before finding Whiting’s foot for the goal as time expired.
“Great recognition from Katie Shea on clock management and great from Katie Whiting on finishing it,” Pope Prep head coach Zack Trobaugh said. “That was a great play all around and was a big lift going into halftime.”
Before Whiting’s goal, Pope Prep found themselves up 2-0 after two goals from Collins — one coming off a penalty kick after being taken down inside the box.
After a back and forth 20 minutes to start the action, Pope Prep found themselves in the attacking third after a pass from Anne Marie to Collins.
Collins outraced the Lady Wildcats backline before burying her shot in the left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
Collins was taken down inside the box just thirty seconds later as she threatened another shot on goal.
No. 4 buried her shot to the right side for the 2-0 lead.
“Clarksville changed their shape on us from the first game, so we just talked about where we could exploit them in that first half,” Trobaugh said. “Tonight was our second match in two days, so I can’t fault them for the letdown in the second half, but overall well played by the girls.”
The win comes on the heels of defeating Beech 9-0 the night prior.
“A well-played game by our girls, definitely,” Trobaugh added.
The Lady Knights will travel to Cookeville on September 10 before returning home on September 14 for a region tilt with Harpeth Hall. Pope Prep will close out the six remaining regular-season games against five region foes.
Trobaugh’s approach is to get as many girls playing time as he can heading into the brutal stretch.
“We are working in girls at different spots to get everyone plenty of playing time, so we are ready for that stretch,” he said. “We were able to accomplish that tonight, so this season so far has been all about putting players in a position that they will find themselves in come conference time. We as coaches will prepare them for that.”
The shutout loss to Pope is the second of the season for Sara Klutz’s crew. After graduating a ton of experience off last year’s team, Klutz is hoping her team can grow over the next few weeks to make a deep postseason run.
“We have grown a lot in the last few weeks, but disappointed because I thought we had an opportunity to take a step forward tonight,” she said. “I think our mental composure was where we struggled the most, and that is disappointing. I am hopeful there is time for us to get it together.”
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