Staff Photo by Tim Barber Jackson Christian's Brittny Johnson (22) pursues as Notre Dame's Kris Cambron (2), who scored three goals in the first half at Chattanooga Christian School on Wednesday.

Kris Cambron and her Notre Dame teammates hope history isn’t repeating itself.

For the second year in a row, the Lady Irish defeated Jackson Christian in the first round of the Class A/AA girls’ state soccer tournament at Chattanooga Christian, and Wednesday night’s 6-0 victory sets up a rematch of last year’s semifinal with Franklin Road Academy.

Tonight’s time, place and opponent are all the same as last season, but Notre Dame will be trying for a very different result.

“Everyone is really positive and excited about it,” Cambron said. “It’s the exact same game as last year. We just want to get to the final.”

The senior forward did all she could Wednesday to help her team get one game closer to its ultimate goal. The Lady Irish took their first shot in the opening minute, and kept up their pressure until Cambron scored the first of her four goals with 28:53 on the clock. Fifty-two seconds later, Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead when Hope Mongiello headed in a ball from Alex Mullin.

Lady Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn said strong starts have been a key for his top-ranked team this season.

“We talked about that a lot,” Schermerhorn said. “We’ve tried to work on it. When the whistle blows, it’s time to go. If we step on the field and play with intensity right away, things seem to go our way.”

Everything went Notre Dame’s way against Jackson Christian, as Cambron scored twice more before the end of the half on balls from Darcy Brannen and Kathryn Healy, and Lady Irish keeper Victoria Goodwin only had to touch the ball twice in the first period.

“We were really excited, and I think you could tell,” Cambron said. “We just went out and did it.”

Fellow forward Carey Leiper added to the offensive output when she sent a high ball into the back of the net in the 56th minute, and Cambron finished off the scoring on a ball from Leiper with 12:23 remaining.

“Kris and Carey are just so good at taking on players,” Schermerhorn said. “Their individual effort is just unbelievable. They just turn and go, and it’s fun to watch.”

The Lady Irish (17-4-1) will be playing in the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season when they take on FRA tonight at 7. The Lady Panthers (19-3-2) advanced by defeating Seymour 4-0 on Wednesday with two goals from Abby Wharton.

FRA went on to win the state title after its shootout victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals last season, and the Lady Irish are expecting another tough fight tonight as they play for a spot in Saturday afternoon’s championship match.

“FRA is still good,” Schermerhorn said. “We’ve still got our hands full. It’s going to be a battle. We have to not think about last year, and just go out there and win 80 minutes tomorrow night.”

Today’s other semifinal will feature Christian Academy of Knoxville, which advanced with a 4-1 victory over Station Camp, and Christ Presbyterian Academy, which defeated University School of Jackson 1-0.

CAK (21-2-1) fell behind early on a goal from Station Camp in the third minute, but Kayce Campbell scored twice before the end of the first period and Kiah Allen and Ruthie Edmunds added second-half goals. Savannah Moore’s goal with a little more than three minutes remaining was the difference for CPA (15-5-4) against USJ.

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