The Lady Chargers are on their way to a historic season, with the finish line being the soccer pitch of Madison Central High School.

After a 6-0 MHSAA Class 5A state semifinals victory against Saltillo High Wednesday night, the Lady Chargers will face West Harrison High out of the Southern bracket in the championship match at 4 p.m. Saturday in Madison. This marks the first time in school history that the Lady Chargers will be playing in the state championship round.

“After beating Germantown, we knew going in that anything can happen, and that the underdog can win,” Lady Chargers junior captain Anna Dennis said about knocking off one of the state’s top teams regardless of classification in the quarterfinals last weekend before advancing past Saltillo in fine fashion in the semis. “Coming in we knew that we could win, and we knew that we would come on top.”

Sophomore defender Ally Shinall, who scored two goals on Wednesday night, is equally excited about the recent win.

“We knew that we would win, but I was not expecting to win by that much,” Shinall said.  “It felt great being able to score the first goal of the game.”

With the recent win against Saltillo under their belt, the team is confident in their upcoming competition against West Harrison.

“I watched the film last night of their game, and they are a strong team,” Shinall said. “Their midfield is pretty strong, but I feel like we could get some goals in, if we can hold them off.”

Shinall is confident but feels that this game will be much closer than the win over Saltillo.

“I feel like it will be a lot closer game,” Shinall said. “They are a lot more talented than Saltillo.”

Dennis is both excited and nervous to be playing in the state championship contest for the first time in her soccer career. After defeating Saltillo by such a wide margin, expectations are set high for the Lady Chargers’ performance come Saturday afternoon.

“It is really exciting but it also puts a lot of pressure on us for state,” Dennis said. “You want to win, and it will be exciting either way,”

Lady Chargers head coach Hunter Cran, is equally enthusiastic about the recent performances of his team, and is eager to see his team play one last time.

“I am excited about the opportunity to take my team to the state championship,” Crane said. “We are playing really good soccer right now, and I know the girls are prepared. As long as we play ‘Lady Charger Soccer’, we will have a really good day.”