Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

CHILLICOTHE — The South Point Lady Pointers really got their kicks against the Southeastern Lady Panthers.
Penalty kicks, that is.
The two teams were tied 1-1 after regulation but the Lady Pointers got penalty kicks from Neele Bennje, Katie Lester and Grace Simpson to win the Division III sectional tournament on Tuesday.
“Our girls clutched up on the penalty kicks,” said Lady Pointers’ coach Zach Jenkins. “We put Kylee Ellison in goal for penalty kicks and it worked like a charm. Her speed effected their kicks quite a bit and we had four really good shots at goal in our chances.”
South Point will now play Lynchburg-Clay at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the district semifinals at Waverly. Lynchburg-Clay beat Peebles 6-2.
South Point is 8-7-1 which is a girls’ program record for wins. The sectional title was also the first for the program.
“Proud is the best work I can come up with. My girls played their absolute hearts out tonight,” said Jenkins. “Our defensive played outstanding for 110 minutes tonight.”
Southeaster took a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Sierra Mitten at the 13-minute mark of the first half.
South Point tied the game with 46:00 left in the second half when Aysiah Sharp scored off an assist from Bennje.
“At halftime, we told the girls for us to score it was just a matter of playing tic-tac-toe and putting our possession into a real threat,” said Jenkins.
“It didn’t take them long. We used a combination of play from Whitt to Ellison to Neele Bennje and then Aysiah Sharp broke through and Neele found her.”
Mitten also made the Lady Panthers’ only penalty kick.
South Point goalkeeper Kate Mundy had eight saves. The Lady Panthers’ Sydney Gray had 11 saves.
South Point 0 1 = 1
Southeastern 1 0 = 1
South Point won on penalty kicks 3-1
First Half
SE — Sierra Mitten (unassisted) 13:00
Second Half
SP — Aysiah Sharp (Neele Bennje assist) 46:00
Penalty Kicks — South Point: Neele Bennje, Katie Lester, Grace Simpson; SE: Sierra Mitten
Saves — South Point: Kate Mundy 8; SE: Sydney Gray 11
Corner Kicks — South Point: 6; SE: 5