LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Lincoln County shut out North Laurel until the final minutes, but a late goal by Mollie Dotson allowed the Lady Jaguars to tie the game. Since it was a non-district contest, the game ended in a 1-1 tie with no overtime.

“The girls never quit. They fought hard all night long and that’s what you have to do in a game like that,” North Laurel coach Becki Woodworth said. “A beatable team, someone we can play with, and we played with them. That’s important.”

After a scoreless first half, the Lady Patriots (6-2-1) finally found the goal with less than 25 minutes remaining. North Laurel keeper Kendall Ellington made a save, but the ball was not cleared and Lincoln County took the lead.

“The second half we came out pretty strong. They got a few numbers up on us and put a rebound in,” Woodworth said.  “I told my girls at halftime, we’re going to get scored on. You can’t lie on the field and be upset when you get scored on in soccer. You are going to get score on.”

That lead held up until the closing minutes. There were about four minutes remaining when Dotson headed downfield with a breakaway. The defender caught up with Dotson, but was called for a foul with push. That led to a direct kick outside the box. Woodworth said she thought it was a penalty kick, so she sent Kendra Smallwood to take the shot.

“We took it quick, which was smart. The keeper wasn’t ready so she fumbled it and Mollie chased it in and put it away,” Woodworth said. “We played tough all game long. We possessed better. We played defense harder, which is what we have got to improve on.”

Woodworth said the Lady Jaguars (3-6-1) did have other chances to score, including three or four opportunities that were wiped out by offside calls.

“We’ve got to watch that,” Woodworth said. “If we had held our line we would have been good.”

Still she liked what she saw against a team she felt the Lady Jaguars could play with.

“There are teams on our schedule that are going to beat us. There are people on our schedule we have to beat and there are people we can play with. Lincoln is a play with and we played with them,” Woodworth said. “I’m satisfied with this, plus it is always nicer to get a tie when you are the one that comes back.”

The Lady Jaguars were scheduled to play at Hazard Thursday

“That’s a good opportunity for us to build on our possession game,” Woodworth said.

The Lady Jaguars have a doubleheader Saturday at Lawrence County followed by a game at Pikeville.

mhoward@sentinel-echo.com