Wildcats battle for sentimental victory

CLASS 3A GIRLS HARDING ACADEMY 3, EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 1

“I think it’s neat that we had three goals, by three different people. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing all season.”

Harding Academy Coach Angie Harlow

BENTON — As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Angie Harlow had one person she needed to find.

Her Harding Academy girls soccer team (10-2) was moments away from completing a 3-1 win over Episcopal Collegiate (11-2) on Friday at the Benton Athletic Complex and lifting its second Class 3A trophy in two years, but she had something to take care of first.

Through a sea of red jerseys and shin pads, Harlow found her target — midfielder Calle Citty.

Harlow has been a close family friend of the Citty’s since Calle’s childhood — acting as a softball and soccer coach throughout her childhood. Their embrace as the final buzzer sounded was not only a celebration of their win but a celebration of who they had done it for.

Citty spent Thursday night with her grandfather, who had been placed on life support. And while Harlow wasn’t there in person, they texted back and forth throughout the night.

Citty’s grandfather was a “second father” to Harlow, and with her own mother having died in December 2021, Harlow wanted nothing more than to win this latest state championship with them in mind.

Episcopal Collegiate’s Samantha De Luca opened the scoring in the 13th minute, leaving Citty and Harding Academy in unfamiliar territory.

“I was frustrated in the beginning [because] we were down,” Citty said. “We don’t play down usually … we always score the first goal, we always get up first. So having to fight from behind is definitely out of our comfort zone.”

Harding Academy’s Kloey Fullerton tied the game with a goal on a free kick in the 32nd minute to send the game to halftime at 1-1.

Late in the second half and the score still tied, Harding Academy captain Abby White dribbled past a defender and converted near-post to give her team a 2-1 lead.

Before Harlow and the Harding Academy bench finished celebrating White’s goal, Jama Akpanudo forced an Episcopal Collegiate turnover, dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored with 2:39 left.

“I think it’s neat that we had three goals, by three different people,” Harlow said. “That’s kind of what we’ve been doing all season. When you look at our stat line, there’s not one [person] above anybody else. It’s just very even. It just depends on what game it is who steps up, and today three girls stepped up.”

Episcopal Collegiate continued to push for a second goal. After a week full of injuries and illness, that was all Wildcats Coach Duke Ophof could have asked for.

“Playing with only 14 girls and taking it to a team like Harding [Academy], this’ll be the first time I’ve lost in a playoff, and I’m actually not upset,” Ophof said. “It was a heck of a game”

To go along with her second state championship, Citty was named the MVP of the game. Helping Harding Academy to keep Episcopal Collegiate scoreless in the second half as she got exactly what she wanted — a win for her grandfather.

“That was my mentality coming out here today. I have to honor him in everything I do,” Citty said. “He was a competitor. Everything he did, he never wanted to let down his teammates and I didn’t want to let him down today.”