Ever watch a soccer game and a team which appears to be comfortably ahead seems to try and keep on scoring and you accuse the coach of trying to pile on? Well after last week, there will be more coaches trying to do just that because if there is one thing for certain “No Lead Is Ever Safe!”
Take the 17th District Girls Soccer Championship in which Elizabethtown had built a quick 2-0 lead and appeared to be in cruise control as the second half was coming to a close. Their opponent Central Hardin had struggled to score all season long after losing a talented senior class and with the Lady Panthers doing a great job of marking the Lady Bruins scoring threats, the game appeared to be safely in hand.
Then it happened.
With about 10:00 gone from the second half, Central Hardin’s Haley Pickerall set up for a long direct kick and her shot sailed high over the Elizabethtown blocking wall and just past the gloved hand of Goalkeeper Emma Grim for the the first Central Hardin goal of the game. Shades of Hadley Handel, wh had hit a smiliar goal in a 17th District Championship seven years ago. Still, Elizabethtown seemed in control until Pickerall struck again breaking free and smacking one in with 6:32 left in regulation to tie the score at 2-2.
Elizabethtown still played hard, but maybe a little shell shocked after the events as the game became a very rough and physical test as tempers would flare on both sides in the second half. Still, unable to score the game drifted into Overtime and after both teams went scoreless during the two five minute periods, the game and the District trophy would be decided in a shootout.
Ironically, shootouts are not new to these two teams and during their last regular season meeting, it was a shootout that decided the scoreless tie as Elizabethtown sank all ten shots during two shooting sequences and Central Hardin was nine-for-ten in a Lady Panther win.
This time around it was totally different as Lady Bruins Goalkeeper Olivia Fogle blocked Ella Durbin’s first shot, was scored on by Mary Bell, stopped Kristen Swiney’s attempt and stopped Adelyn Inman’s shot. Central Hardin was three for three with Audra Disselkamp, Taylor Eidson and Haylie Panter winning the trophy, 3-2. The game added another chapter to the competitive ET-CH rivalry and despite the fact that the game was more for seeding in the upcoming 5th Region Tournament, it was a great example of never believing a lead is safe.
The following night in Bardstown that theory was tested again as Bethlehlem and Bardstown played for the 19th District Girls Soccer Championship and on a cold dark night history repeated itself in a dramatic way.
Both teams have been rivals for years, but it has taken on a more competitive style since the Banshees won the Region crown for four straight years and went unbeaten in Region play during that time unitl last season when Bardstown took three straight games from then Banshees, but the last two were by the smallest margains and the Lady Tigers took the only regular season meeting between the two teams with a3-2 score so with just seeding on the line both teams still had a score to settle.
Bardstown scored first when Emma Livingston poked one throught after a bad bounce on a corner kick landed in front of her 22:00 in the first half. The Lady Tigers had played stifying defense all night long and like the night before between the 17th District foes, it became a physical game between two bitter rivals. The Lady Tigers appeared to have the game in hand when Emily Hines buried a direct kick just outside the box to up Bardstown’s lead to 2-0 with 17:21 left.
It appeared the game was over as every offensive strike was met with resisitance and it appeared the game was safely in hand as the clock ticked down.
Then it Happened again.
With 2:37 left in regulation, Ginny Spalding sank a penalty kick after a Banshee was fouled in the box. Still, the score was 2-1 and it appeared as if it would make the final tally respectable.
Then it Happened again.
With 1:30 left, Carlie Thurmond got loose on a runout and was fouled hard inside the box once again setting up Spalding for a PK, which she sank. Score tied at 2-2.
Incredibly it looked like the game was headed for overtime, but the Lady Tigers drove downfield and set up for a corner kick which sophomore Whitney Rogers managed to head into the net for a score with 00:45 remaining as Bardstown recaptured the lead.
Game Over, Right?
Wrong.
Somehow, freshman Ashley Miles got loose on another runout and buried a reverse direction kick into the net past the Goalkeeper to tie things up at 3-3 with 00:12 left.
In the last 2:37 of regulation, both teams scored four goals and all three in fanatical fashion. So as the game drifted into Overtime and there was no score after the first five minutes, it appeared as if the game would drift into a shootout as the second OT had began.
And Then it Happened Again.
At 4:04 in the second overtime, Whitney Rogers managed to jump just high enough on a corner kick to head it into the net past the goalkeeper for the winning score.
Bardstown 4-Bethlehem 3.
Afterwards, both coaches must have been impressed by the fanatic manner in which their teams recovered and how they responded to adversity and moaned about their two-minute defense just as well.
It was ironic that last year, Bardstown took Bethlehem in the 87th minute of their 19th District Championship win.
This time it took 86 minutes.
Still, if we have learned anything after the events of the past two nights is that NO LEAD IS SAFE!
