MIDDLETOWN >> Madison Ketchum’s goal with 26 minutes left in the first half gave the Middletown Mustangs a lead they never relinquished in a 4-1 victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves on Wednesday night in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division III girls’ soccer playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field.
Middletown (14-3-3) beat Fort Bragg (8-12-3) for the third time this season and the penalty kick the Timberwolves scored against the Mustangs in the second half was the only goal they scored against Middletown all season.
“They played us a lot tougher than they did the first two times we played,” Middletown coach Lamont Kucer said. “They came down here ready to beat us.”
Next up for the fifth-seeded Mustangs, the nine-time defending North Central League I champions, are the No. 4-seeded St. Bernard Crusaders, who beat South Fork 2-1 in their first-round game in Eureka. Middletown and St. Bernard square off Saturday in the quarterfinals, the winner moving on to the semifinals next Wednesday.
Middletown dropped a 2-1 non-league decision to St. Bernard back in early September at Middletown, which is the reason St. Bernard beat out the Mustangs for the No. 4 seed and why Saturday’s quarterfinal is taking place in Eureka instead of Middletown.
“We’re going to be ready,” Kucer said.
Caitlin Lemoine’s goal with 2:52 left in the first half boosted Middletown’s lead to 2-0. Fort Bragg closed to 2-1 with its penalty kick before a header by Aly Ferguson off a corner kick from Lemoine pushed Middletown’s lead to 3-1. Ketchum added an insurance goal later in the half to make it 4-1.
Hanna Morris started in the net for the Mustangs and turned in a solid effort, according to Kucer.
Middletown’s anchor on defense was center back Gracie Armstrong.
“She never comes out of a game, that’s how important she is to us,” Kucer said.
