The Middlesboro Lady Jackets’ girls soccer team recognized three seniors on Tuesday night at halftime of their match-up against Knox Central.

Emily Barnwell, Alexis Vanover and Kayla James were all recognized for the dedication and hard work that they have put in for the Lady Jackets throughout their soccer careers.

Barnwell was escorted by her parents, Thomas and Jennifer Barnwell. Her favorite soccer memory was “winning the district with two minutes remaining in the game.” After graduation she plans on “going to college and making money.”

Vanover was escorted by her mother, Bridget Maiden and her brother Jacob Medley. Her favorite soccer memory was “going to the All ‘A’ State Tournament during my freshman year, winning the district during my freshman and junior year, and stopping coach Mason from fighting with a referee during my sophomore year.” After graduating high school, she plans on “going to college to become a cardiology nurse.”

James was escorted by her mother Nikki, her sister Mallory, her brother Brayden and her grandparents Ruth and Patrick Marsee. Her favorite soccer memory was “going to the All ‘A’ State Tournament freshmen year, winning the district freshman and junior year, scoring a goal in the district tournament as a freshman and watching coach Mason break clip boards.” After graduating high school, she plans to “go to college and become either a Marine Biologist or a paramedic.”

The game was scoreless going into the halftime ceremony. When the second half resumed, the Lady Jackets got to work on offense. With two near misses, Middlesboro connected on a goal from Kaitlyn Benson in the 32nd minute to go up 1-0.

The Lady Jackets added another goal in the 22nd minute of action, again from Benson, giving Middlesboro a 2-0 advantage with about 20 minutes remaining in the game.

After falling behind by two goals, the Knox Central offense finally found their rhythm and connected on three goals in the final 20 minutes to steal the game from the Lady Jackets and escape with a 3-2 victory.

Benson spearheaded the Lady Jacket effort with three goals. Madison McClelland added an assist and Jordyn Ferguson added 13 saves.

With the loss, Middlesboro moved to 0-6 on the season. The Lady Jackets were slated to take on the Lady Panthers again on the road Thursday night.