GIRLS SOCCER: Thompson sends Lee Ladies to Group AA tournament

For the first time in school history, the Robert E. Lee girls soccer team is headed to the Group AA tournament.

Riding a Kathleen Thompson natural hat trick, the Lee Ladies dispatched E.C. Glass on Friday afternoon 3-1 in the Region III semifinals. The win sends the Lee Ladies to the finals against Jefferson Forest to be played today at 2 p.m. at Waynesboro High School.

“This is my senior year and it’s fun knowing that even though it’s beach week next week we still get to play and be together,” Thompson said.

The two teams tried to get the game finished Thursday night, but the game was suspended due to thunderstorms that ripped through the area with 8:20 left in the first half. Play picked up where it left off Thursday, with the score tied 0-0.

Lee coach Andrew Green said that the unexpected 24-hour break helped tip the scales in the Lee Ladies’ favor.

“We got a timeout and it played well for us,” Green said.

Neither team managed to score in the first half and barely had time to get warmed up when the center referee signaled the half was over. The Hilltoppers came out in the second on fire.

Just more than a minute into the second half, Ashlea Caylor headed a ball between the pipes to break the stalemate.

Thompson knotted the game back up four minutes later. Breaking free, the senior sent a shot to the top shelf.

“It had been a while since I scored and I wanted to make sure I did since this could’ve been my last game,” Thompson said.

Lee focused on wearing out the Hilltoppers throughout the game, forcing them to work for every possession and it showed as the heat of the day bore down on the field.

“My bench played so well today,” Green said. “[Midfielder] Elizabeth Barnes made them work and in this heat it paid off.”

With 19 minutes remaining in the game, Thompson broke through two Glass defenders then beat the keeper to score the eventual game-winning goal.

In stoppage time, Thompson added her final goal of the night to give the Lee Ladies a little insurance.

Lee is guaranteed a spot in the Group AA tournament and will play either Hidden Valley or Blacksburg depending on today’s game.