Just by its performance alone in a 5-1 victory against Riverside at Pan American Stadium on Sunday in the first round of the Division III girls soccer playoffs, McGehee shunned pity and commanded respect.

The win sends McGehee into the regional round on Tuesday where they  will host University of Baton Rouge, an 8-2 winner against St. Frederick. The match will either be played at Tad Gormely or Pan American Stadium.

With a bottomless capacity to show resiliency, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say they’d gained a moral victory of sorts by showing up for the match. Coach Paul Marinaro has only been on the job for two weeks, after former coach Melissa Lewis suffered injuries from her second car accident within the past year. Add to the mix the team’s two keepers are unable to play due to injuries and were forced to start seventh grader McKenzie Cummins.

“It was a well-played game and we tried to keep possession and take off some of the pressure,” said Marinaro. “Hannah (Tyler) has a great left foot and (Madden) Wilbert is ferocious and has so much speed. Before the match, I told the girls to just go out and have fun. Everyone enjoys playing with each other.”

Behind a solid group of senior leadership, the Hawks were able to put together a performance that left little doubt they were up to the challenge. A three-goal showing by Tyler and two from Wilbert eased the pressure for Cummins, who stared in goal for the fifth time this season.

“McKenzie does a good job of what we ask her to do,” said Tyler. “Stepping in as a seventh grader like she did is amazing and she really knows what she’s doing. As a team, we also had to learn a new formation and make sure we marked correctly.”