The usual Danville Admirals didn’t show up to start Monday’s 45th District tournament game against Garrard County at Boyle County.

The Admirals won 8-0, but had just one goal to their tally in the first half.

“I don’t think we showed up ready to play,” Danville head coach JD Smith said. “We didn’t necessarily stick to the game plan. We were very one-dimensional in the first half with our attack, and it wasn’t working for us. We weren’t very technically sound. Garrard, they did a lot of things that frustrated us. Their goalkeeper had some big saves when she needed to.”

Garrard keeper Vanessa Hume was in the right place to stop Danville’s shots in the first half, the only goal coming from a Kelsie Steber breakaway.

The Admirals peppered Hume’s goal but didn’t score until two minutes till the half.

“I think as the girls got more frustrated, they became more and more impatient, which took us even farther from our gameplan,” Smith said. “Once again, that’s a credit to what Garrard was doing.”

Garrard’s defense continued to hold strong early in the second half. Danville’s second goal came with 29 minutes left, when Ahyana Burnett crossed into Katie Kirk’s path to score.

“At halftime, we kind of got settled a bit, talked a little more about what we should be doing and we stuck to it a bit more in the second half,” Smith said. “We had a couple balls bounce our way but we were getting into dangerous areas. I think the second half was a little more true to form.”

Six minutes later, the Admirals blew the doors off as the Garrard defense wore down. Jaylin Nash would assist Kirk’s second goal, then Courtney Howe would score twice. Taylor Rankin got in behind to score to make it 6-0.

Maggie Milby was taken down in the box and Steber converted the penalty to put Danville ahead 7-0, and Annabelle Graves would score the final goal of the game.

Smith noted a handful of players off of the bench that came in and gave the team an energy boost in the second half.

“Gracie Goode, Ella (McKinney) and Mariah (Burnett) came in,” Smith said. “They’ve been coming in and playing a defensive midfield role for me. Really, at halftime, I was just looking for a little more energy. Ahyana Burnett, she played an excellent game tonight. And she played excellent in our final game of the season against Bardstown. She’s in really good form right now. Having those girls come in, they gave us a different look and an energy boost that we needed.”

Danville will play host Boyle County in the 45th District Championship on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“It’s going to be a tough game. They’re a good program, a really good team,” Smith said. “It’s one that we’ve talked a lot about. We’re going to take some time tomorrow to talk about it. But it’s one that the girls have wanted since the first time we played them. I think they felt we could’ve been more successful. I think they’re coming into it with a good, positive mindset.”