Greenwood stops Lady Wildcats in shootout
El Dorado and Greenwood weren’t playing for a championship Saturday. But, they played like they thought they were.
The Lady Bulldogs edged the Lady Wildcats 2-2 in sudden death penalty kicks to take third in the 6A West Conference Tournament at the EHS Soccer Complex.
The game was knotted at 2-2 after regulation and went to penalty kicks. Both teams converted three of five penalty kicks, sending the match into sudden death. El Dorado’s Melanie Miller missed to the left of the goal, opening the door for Greenwood’s Emerson Lejong, who floated in an arcing shot over the reach of the Lady Wildcats’ keeper Hannah Turbeville and into the left corner of the goal.
“You ask any coach, they hate it coming down to a PK on either side. You want it to be on the field. But, it’s exciting if you get through it. It makes me almost have a heart attack,” said Greenwood coach Andrew Post. “That’s our second one in this tournament and we’ve
been victorious both times. So, we’ve been practicing a lot on that. I’m happy for them. It could’ve gone either way, really.”
El Dorado scored early when Hannah McAllister tapped in the rebound after Carson Henry’s shot richocheted off the post.
The lead stood, helped by solid defense by the Lady Wildcats. Freshman Madi Bonsall saved a goal late in the half when she deflected a shot when Turbeville was out of the net.
In the second half, Turbeville made a scrambling save just in front of the goal. Greenwood’s Camryn Presley was equally impressive, stopping McAllister twice on a runs from the left flank.
The Lady Bulldogs finally got the equalizer when Swedish foreign exchange student Emma Akeson launched a free kick from 40 yards out over a leaping Turbeville and into the right corner of the net.
Greenwood took the lead when, after a foul on El Dorado that was vehemently disputed, Sarah White scored on a free kick over the wall and into the right corner at about the 18-minute mark of the second half.
The intensity level rose with the temperature as, moments later, El Dorado’s Autumn Parker was hit with a yellow card.
The Lady Wildcats regained their composure and went on a furious offensive attack. They scored the game-tying goal on a beautiful play with Henry flipping a pass in the air to Autumn Seemann, who headed it over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net with 13:41 remaining.
With the momentum now wearing purple-and-white, the Lady Wildcats stayed
on the offensive. But, Presley went low to stop Henry’s shot. In the final seconds, McAllister made a nifty move and then launched an awkward angled shot from the left flank that bounced off the top of the post.
“El Dorado played a great game. I thought they controlled most of the game. The first half, they were all over us. The second half, they changed formations on us a bit. I had to scramble and change formations,” said Post. “We thought we had ‘em and they got that great goal to tie it up. At that point, I was biting my nails. I thought El Dorado played a heck of a game. They really, on the field, deserved to win that one. Our girls just were gritty and bent but didn’t break and were able to hold onto that tie.”
Greenwood won the coin toss and elected to go second in the penalty kicks.
Henry opened with a goal for El Dorado before Turbeville stoned Akeson on a shot right at her. But, the Lady Wildcats’ Cami Lowrey missed wide on her attempt. Presley tied it up with a goal for Greenwood and then made a save, diving to her right to stop Kendal Bonsall’s shot.
White scored for the Lady Bulldogs, going high and into the net. Seemann answered with a shot into the left corner, tying it at 2-2. Bella Mora scored for Greenwood and McAllister answered with a goal to keep the Lady Wildcats alive. Then, Turbeville stepped up big, lunging to her right to stop Cherynk Moore’s shot and sent the game into another OT.
“We had experience going … our keeper is pretty good at PKs so I was confident we would do well,” said Post. “It’s not the way you want to win. It’s a heartbreaker for them. I thought they played excellent. I thought our girls hung in there and played really well, especially in the second half.”