Wolverine seniors lead rally as Polk tops North Henderson

Polk County found a Love-Lee way to a comeback win Thursday night.

Seniors Ashley Love and Caroline Lee teamed on Polk County’s final two goals as the Wolverines rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat North Henderson 3-2 in a non-conference girls soccer match in Wolverine Stadium.

Lee scored all three Wolverine goals, her second hat trick of the season, including the deciding tally with seven minutes remaining. Malena Roman and Polk County’s defense made the lead stand, turning aside several North Henderson threats in the final minutes as the Knights furiously pressed forward.

“When we were down two we were not exactly rhe most confident team out there,” said Polk County head coach Lennox Charles. “We pulled together and showed our determination in the second half.”

The Wolverines (6-3) had several scoring chances in the first half, but Polk remained without a goal until 32:54 remained in the final 40 minutes. Lee, fouled in the penalty area, successfully converted the ensuing penalty kick to cut North Henderson’s lead in half.

Polk County thought it scored the equalizer with 21:24 remaining during a wild scramble in front of the net, but officials ruled the ball never fully crossed the goal line. The Wolverines, though, made certain of a goal a couple of minutes of later on a picture-perfect play.

Reese Alley took possession of the ball deep in Polk’s end of the field, dribbling up the left sideline before sending a long pass ahead to Love, who pushed deeper down the sideline before delivering a perfect crossing pass to Lee, streaking down the middle of the field. The Southeastern Louisiana signee drove into the penalty area before sending a low line drive into the net to even the match with 19:51 remaining.

The winning goal then came off a long throw-in by Love, the ball bouncing once in front of the goal before finding Lee, who tapped it in to give Polk its third straight victory.

“I felt like we passed the ball to feet more in the second half,” Charles said. “By playing to feet, we were able to keep the ball a little more and get more into a rhythm.”

Both teams had a handful of scoring opportunities in the first half, with North Henderson finally taking advantage. North’s Jasmin Sanchez scored on a hard line drive from just outside the top of the penalty box and Emily Baird hammered a long free kick into the left corner of the net to give the Knights a 2-0 lead midway through the half. The Knights also had two shots ricochet off the posts in the half.

Polk County now has a break to recover from various bumps and bruises before hosting Madison on April 4 in a key Western Highlands Conference game.