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The Huntland High School Lady Hornets beat the Culleoka Lady Warriors 1-0 on the road Tuesday in a semifinal game for the Region 5A tournament.

The Lady Hornets took the lead early in the second half and held onto it for the rest of the day as they shut out the District 10A champions in Culleoka to advance to the regional championship game.

Huntland head soccer coach Amanda Tipps said her team did a good job of refocusing after more than a week off from games following a runner-up finish in their district tournament.

“I’m really proud of the girls. After our district (tournament) week, which wasn’t the greatest, they came out prepared and ready to go. Tonight, I’m just really excited,” she said, adding later that her defensive line and goalkeeper Molly Tipps both played very well to record the team’s fifth shutout of the season.

The teams were even throughout the entire first half with both squads having offensive opportunities, but neither side was able to get on the board in the period.

The score was tied at 0-0 at halftime.

The Lady Hornets broke the scoreless tie with 34:22 remaining in the second half as Hazel Reed received a pass from Piper Cox near midfield, broke away from the defense and fired a shot which rolled into the right corner of the net to give Huntland the lead. It was the ninth goal of the season for Reed.

The Lady Hornets created a few more offensive opportunities throughout the rest of the day, but the Lady Warriors held firm on defense to keep the deficit at 1-0.

On the other end of the field, the Lady Hornets kept their shutout going with Molly Tipps making several diving stops to block shots from the Lady Warriors.

The Lady Warriors sent their entire team, including their own goalkeeper, at Huntland’s net in the closing seconds, but they weren’t able to get an on-target shot off through an equally large crowd of Huntland defenders as the Lady Hornets got the victory by one.

With the win, the Lady Hornets improved to 11-4 on the season.

They will next play Thursday against Cascade High School at The Webb School in the Region 5A championship game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.