The Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer team goes after a sixth berth in the Region VI Tournament championship game on Thursday, but in order to do so, the Lady Dragons will have to upset their fiercest rival. The Lady Dragons (12-4) will meet fifth-seeded Butler at 11 a.m. on Thursday in the Region VI semifinals at Hummer Park in Topeka. The winner will face the Johnson County/Barton winner at 10 a.m. on Friday for the right to represent Region VI at the NJCAA national championships in Melbourne, Fla., in two weeks. Thursday’s game will be videostreamed by the Blue Dragon Sports Network at www.bluedragonsports.com beginning at 10 a.m. Live stats will also be available at www.hutchcc.edu/livestats. For the third time in the program’s nine-year history, the Lady Dragons had to advance to the Final Four by winning a road game in the opening round. That triumph came last Saturday as fifth-seeded HCC rallied late to defeat fourth-seeded Coffeyville 2-1 in double overtime. Freshman Jen Rogers scored the game-tying goal in the 86th minute and then drove home the game winner with less than 2 minutes to play in the second overtime. Region VI Women’s Soccer Semifinals Hutchinson (12-4) vs. No. 5 Butler (19-2) When: Thursday, November 7 Time: 10 a.m. Site: Hummer Park, Topeka Live Video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 10 a.m. Live Stats: www.hutchcc.edu/livestats Twitter: @bluedragonsport Daily Admission: $10 The parallels between the 2007 and 2013 seasons continue to be strikingly similar. In 2007, HCC played a regular season road game at Coffeyville and lost 4-1. The Lady Dragons avenged that loss with a first-round Region VI victory at Coffeyville and went on to defeat Butler and Johnson County to capture the program’s first of three Region VI championships. This year, the Lady Dragons dropped a 4-1 decision at Coffeyville on Sept. 19 and avenged that loss with Saturday’s come-from-behind victory. Now the Lady Dragons face Butler in the Region VI semifinals. This will be the sixth postseason meeting between Hutchinson and Butler. The Lady Dragons own a 5-1 postseason edge, including 2-0 in the semifinals. Butler’s lone postseason win over the Lady Dragons came in last year’s championship game, a 3-1 Grizzly victory. Butler extended its winning streak over Hutchinson to three games with a 3-0 victory on Oct. 11 at the USD 308 Athletic Complex. Hutchinson’s last victory over the Grizzlies came in the 2011 Region VI championship game, a 1-0 victory on a second-half goal by All-American Melissa Hetherington. Thursday’s meeting will be the 15th time between the two teams. The series record between Hutchinson and Butler is 7-7. Hutchinson’s all-time Region VI Tournament record is now 17-5. Freshman forward Jen Rogers leads the Lady Dragons with 31 goals and 67 points. She currently ranks third in single-season goals scored and points scored. Freshman Siobhon Wilson has 10 goals, six assists and 26 points for HCC.
(HCC Sports Information)