Senior Tanner Harris recorded a hat trick in the District semifinal win over Hazelwood Central on Monday. With the win, the Pirates advanced to the championship game tonight against Hazelwood West.
Harris’s first goal was scored just 20 seconds into the game.
“Jeremy Fechtman dribbled the ball down the field and passed it to me from the wing,” Harris said. “I had a breakaway to the goal and just slid it between his legs.”
That score changed the momentum of the game for Pattonville.
“It just helped us realize that we had more of a chance to win and we relaxed and played our own game.”
His last goal came with 3 minutes remaining in the game. Those three scores on Senior Night increased Harris’s goal total for the season to four. He had only one entering the game.
The shutout was recorded by junior Taylor Womack and was his sixth shutout of the season.
“We have one of the best defensive lines so Central only had less than five real shots on goal,” Womack said. “It can get boring not doing anything but your team is winning so it’s nothing to worry about.”
In 2015, Pattonville finished the season 6-15-2, and now, the 12-8 team is competing for the first District title since 1997.
“We got some new players and we switched some players around and it’s just worked for us,” Womack said.
Fechtman played midfield last season and now plays forward and has become the second-leading goal scorer on the team with 13 goals and 16 assists. Byron Reyes leads the team with 16.
The District title game kicks off tonight at 6 p.m. at home. If Pattonville wins, they advance to the first round of the state tournament.
“We are pretty evenly matched with Hazelwood West and we have found their weak spots and we hope to utilize that,” Womack said.
Harris said the team has improved because they have a lot of team players this year.
“We have more threats scoring goals and our goalkeeper has stepped up,” Harris said. “We are solid all the way around.”
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