BOILING SPRINGS, SC - It only took seven rounds of penalty kicks and a player having to lace their cleats back up for Boiling Springs to come away with the 3-3 (7-6) victory over region rival Byrnes on Monday night.
"The girls needed this win big time and we probably should have won it bigger but that's just the way the game goes," said Bulldogs head girls soccer coach Chad Kerr. "Byrnes has some really outstanding playmakers and we struggled a little bit as a team, We didn't want to go to overtime but we did and held them off and we done our job in the penalty kicks to get the win." When the game was tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation and two overtime periods, it sent the game into penalty kicks. Through the first five kickers, not one Boiling Springs or Byrnes kicker has missed a goal and that continued onto the sixth kickers but on the seventh kicker, a Rebels kicker missed the goal just wide. If the Bulldogs hit their next goal they'd win the match and with the game on the line they sent sophomore Sophie Crosby to take the kick, but it took a second as Crosby had to retie her cleats as most soccer games in penalty kicks are done after the first five kickers make their attempts. With the game on the line, Crosby approached the kick and with a strong right footed kick hit the back of the net on the upper left ninety to give the Bulldogs the victory. "I was very nervous going out there because I thought it was going to go over the net because that's what usually happens on my penalty kicks but luckily that one went in," said Crosby. "It feels really good to get that kick and help get the team the win." Coach Kerr said that after the way that Crosby's season ended last year due to injury early in the season, he couldn't be happier for her to be the one to get the game winning goal. "As one of two sophomores on our team and the way she had her season in last year with the injury early in the season," said Kerr. "For her to come back and do this and step up for a big penalty kick, I'm so proud of her." Prior to heading into overtime, the Bulldogs and Rebels had quite the back-and-forth match, as they exchanged goals throughout the match. Byrnes got the first goal of the match when Saige Peterson made a quick turn and fire for a right footed shot that found the top right ninety to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead at the twelve-minute mark of the first half. The Bulldogs responded just over a minute later when sophomore Charley Kerr found the back of the net on a right footed shot off of a cross to the middle to tie the match at 1-1, as the score stayed the same into the halftime break. Boiling Springs got the first goal of the second half less than a minute in when freshman forward Miranda Amieva took a right footed shot off a cross to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. The Rebels responded when Jaleah Simmons found the back of the net on a shot to the left of the goal to tie the match at the thirty-one minute mark of the second half. In what could only be considered a Sportscenter highlight goal, Boiling Springs retook the lead at 3-2 when senior forward Dreyahna Nesbitt hit the back left corner of the net on a kick she took from the ten-yard line numbers of the football field that went over forty yards in the air for a goal at the twenty-six minute mark of the second half. The game stayed in favor of the Bulldogs most of the second half but with just three minutes to go in the match, a Byrnes player fired a shot that appeared to reach the goal line but according to the referee had crossed the line for the game tying goal. In the penalty kick session the Bulldogs outside the goal from Crosby, the Bulldogs also got goals from Charley Kerr, Miranda Amieva, Dreyahna Nesbitt, Keturah Meadows, Madison Squires, and Alexis Kishbaugh. While the Bulldogs had three goals scored against them, the Rebels had a few more opportunities they could have converted if not for the strong play of junior goalkeeper Natalie Trudell, who had ten saves in the game. Kerr said that Monday night was just a continuation of the strong play Trudell has been displaying all season long. "Natalie was magic tonight and just played phenomenal," said Kerr. "On those penalty kicks there's not much any goalie can do but she kept us in the game all night just like she has all season. Once we figure out our offense we're going to make her job a lot easier but she has been a rock for us at goalie all season." With the nail biting victory over the region rival, it puts the Bulldogs right back in the region race in what has been a very competitive region this season. "We're so neck and neck with the other teams in the region that we gave ourselves a shot at the region by picking up this victory tonight." said Kerr. Boiling Springs will look to keep the momentum going on Thursday night when they return to the home field for another region matchup against Gaffney that is set to begin at 7:00 PM. OTHER SCORES: BASEBALL - Boiling Springs 6 Gaffney 0 Boiling Springs got an impressive outing from senior pitcher Jackson Cole who pitched all seven innings while striking out 16 Gaffney batters. BOYS SOCCER - Boiling Springs 2 Byrnes 1 The Boiling Springs boys soccer team improved to 3-1 in region play with a victory over the Rebels on Monday night. The Bulldogs were tied with the Rebels 1-1 at halftime but was able to take the victory in the second half getting a goal and holding the Rebels scoreless. Comments are closed.
|
Our Sponsors
If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |