Soccer: Permian girls lose to Marcus in Northwest final

JUSTIN Permian High School’s girls soccer team stunned previously undefeated Arlington Martin before falling to Flower Mound Marcus in the championship game of the Lady Texan Invitational.

The Lady Panthers got goals from Haley Fowler, Kourtnye Chandler and Marianne Hubnik in addition to assists from Krysten Chandler and Fowler while beating Martin 3-1 in the final group game for both teams.

The victory earned Permian a spot in the final, where it fell 2-1 to Marcus after allowing the deciding goal in the final five minutes of the contest.

“We had just a great day,” Permian head coach Chad Peterson said. “It was an unbelievable team effort. Playing four matches in 24 hours, that was a tremendous gut check for these kids.”

Hubnik scored an unassisted goal for the Lady Panthers against Marcus, which is the three-time defending Region I-5A Tournament champion and has played at the state tournament four of the last five seasons.

Permian (4-4) opened the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Justin Northwest on Friday before coming back to beat Wylie 3-1 later Friday. Permian, Arlington Martin and Justin Northwest all finished 2-1 in group play, with Permian advancing on the tournament’s points tiebreaker.

Freshman goalkeeper Jenna Easley played in all four games for the Lady Panthers and Peterson said she provided a spark in the back.

“She really came up big,” Peterson said. “She kept us in the match at real crucial times against Martin and Marcus.”