A FIVE-goal night didn’t even faze Katie Phillips. The Jackson County sophomore was far more excited about team accomplishments than her own career night.
Phillips scored an astounding five times Tuesday in a 6-2 Jackson County (12-4) win over Fannin County in the region soccer playoffs as the Lady Panthers clinched a spot at state.
“The team came out and played with so much heart and everybody gave it their all,” Phillips said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of the team. We just wanted it and that was the bottom line.”
Jackson County will move on in the region playoffs Friday to face either Dawson County or Oglethorpe County, but it is guaranteed a spot at state now.
“All day, this was all that I was thinking about,” Phillips said. “I just wanted to go to state. That was my mindset. So I told myself that when I went down there and had my opportunities, I had to put them in, because you don’t know how many you’re going to have.”
As it turned out, plenty. Gabbi Kastner provided Jackson County’s first goal. The rest of the night belonged to Phillips. Taking advantage of break-aways, Phillips scored two goals in the first half and three more in the second half.
“She’s become a dominant force in Class AA soccer,” Jackson County coach Joseph Ridgway said.
Ridgway also pointed to a player who had a big role in Phillips’ success.
“Sydney Baird with assists is phenomenal,” Ridgway said. “She really opens Katie up. It took a long time for us to figure out how to really get a ball into Katie and get that attack and pass into Katie, and Syndey has done a really good job in the middle for us distributing the ball.”
Fannin County scored a pair of goals in the final 25 minutes, but Ridgway was plenty excited about Jackson County’s defensive performance.
“Our defense played amazing,” Ridgway said. “Our keeper did great. Vic Fontana made some great saves. Our defense, led by Rachel Pasko, is very, very solid. It’s a whole team effort. I could name everyone on the team. That’s the best we’ve played all year long.”
Jackson County’s lead was such, that it was able to rotate a lot of players in and out.
“We got to play everybody on our bench tonight,” Ridgway said. “Our depth is starting to come up.”
Ridgway said his team knew what was at stake Tuesday and rose to the occasion.
“They knew the ramifications,” Ridgway said. “If we lose this game, we’re gone, and going 11-4 means nothing if you lost this game. They played the most aggressive ball I’ve seen them play all year.”
