Millington needs penalty kicks, wins first girls soccer region title
Micaiah Halliburton was a bit nervous Thursday night as she waited for her turn to take a penalty kick after two overtime periods. The Region 8-AA girls soccer title was on the line and Millington had missed two kicks in a row.
But, Halliburton had a game plan. She stayed calm and nailed the game-winning score, securing a 2-1 victory over visiting Covington.
“I was aiming to the corner,” Halliburton said. “To like the mid-corner because the other two kicked it kind of mid and she (the Covington goalie) blocked them. So I was like I have to kick it to either corner to get her off her guard. And when it left my foot I was like ‘Yeah, that has to be good.’ ”
It’s the first region title for Millington. The win means that Millington will host Dyersburg, the team that eliminated it from the playoffs last year, on Saturday at 10 a.m. But this time, the Trojans will have home-field advantage. If Millington wins, it will advance to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
“It’s surreal. The last time we played this game we lost and it was very devastating,” said Koreena Bedford, who also scored a goal. “We’re on top of the world right now. I already know I’m going to be nervous until Saturday, but I’m really excited. We’ve never lost on this field and I don’t want to jinx that. We started playing here my sophomore year and we haven’t lost here since then.”
Coach Nathan Carter said that to have success on Saturday, it must focus on the things it does well.
“We need to focus a lot on passing and possessions,” Carter said. “That’s what we’ve been working a lot on, controlling the ball, controlling the pitch and having good accurate passes. That” pretty much our foundation.”
Defense is another big part of Millington’s success, and it’s Halliburton’s biggest strength.
“Micaiah is our star defender, a two time district defender of the year,” Carter said. “She’s really fast, it’s hard to get past her. She’s a multi-sport athlete and she’s just really hard to break, and she’s pretty good with the shot there as well as you saw.”
Covington will travel to South Gibson for its sectional matchup on Saturday.
“This is a team we’ve played three times this year, and every time it’s been a one-goal victory. It’s been really, really good. We match up really well with these guys, so we wish them the best on Saturday and going forward,” said Carter.