Girls’ team falls short in OT

The Muskie girls’ soccer team suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 loss in overtime to the Dryden Eagles in the NWOSSAA ‘AA’ final here yesterday afternoon—costing the squad a trip to the all-Ontarios in Peterborough next month.
Head coach Adam Craig said despite the loss, he was very proud of the way the team competed.
“They played really tough,” he remarked. “We had to battle through injuries. I’m very proud of the girls.”
The Muskies were without key players Katie McTavish and Paula Vangel for the final. Both missed the game due to injuries suffered during the semi-final match earlier yesterday against the Kenora Broncos.
Craig said the injuries proved too much to overcome.
“We don’t have the biggest bench to begin with and when you take our top goal scorer out of the equation, it means someone has to fill in,” he noted. “They [the bench players] did a great job of filling in, but unfortunately we couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Muskie captain Natalie Cain said the loss was especially hard to swallow given how hard the team More from C1
worked.
“It felt like we should have got it [the win] because we worked so hard,” she reasoned. “It’s a shame we lost. Everybody wants to win but somebody has to lose.
“I’m glad we did it with pride.”
The Eagles pressured the Muskies from the opening whistle, controlling the ball and pinning Fort High deep in their own end.
But while the Muskies struggled to generate offence, they were rock solid defensively. Fort High’s back line kept the Eagles in check and the game was scoreless as the whistle blew to signal halftime.
The second half provided more of the same for the Muskies. The Eagles attacked relentlessly but the black-and-gold turned them away time after time.
The best chance of the half came when Eagles broke into the box and beat Muskie keeper Shannon Gibson with a low shot.
The ball seemed destined to find the back of the net but Melanie Herr cleared the ball away before it could cross the goal-line.
Neither team managed a goal during regulation, forcing overtime, which consisted of two 10-minute halves.
Unlike sudden death overtime where the first goal wins, NWOSSAA uses a “silver goal” system wherein both teams play the full 20 minutes regardless of whether or not a team scores.
The team with the most goals at the end of overtime is deemed the winner.
The Eagles finally managed to break the Muskies’ defence early in the first overtime period when a Dryden forward took a pass at the top of the box, turned, and slid a shot into the corner of the net.
Down a goal heading into the second overtime, Craig put Claire Crichton in goal and urged his entire team forward. The risky ploy produced some quality offensive changes but the Muskies could not score.
Frustration quickly set in and Fort High began taking undisciplined penalties. Alyssa Holliday received a yellow card for an aggressive shoulder challenge, then was sent off for a second yellow seconds later when she was whistled for a another hard foul.
The ejection was an unfortunate ending for the Muskie captain who up until that point had played an extremely solid defensive game.
The Muskies ran out of time shortly after the Holliday ejection, losing by a final score of 1-0.
After the game, Craig said he was pleased with the season despite missing out on a trip to OFSAA.
“This is my first year as a coach and I really enjoyed myself,” he said. “I’m looking forward to next year.”
The Muskies earned a berth in the NWOSSAA ‘AA’ final thanks to a decisive 3-1 win over Kenora in the morning (Dryden had a bye to the final after finishing in first place during the regular season).
Fort High started the match strong, dominating possession and controlling the tempo of the game. The Broncos did not wilt under the early pressure, however, and were rewarded with the game’s first goal midway through the opening half.
The Muskie defence was caught flat-footed and the Bronco forward made a nice turn at the top of the box, allowing her to break in and slide a shot past Gibson.
The early deficit deflated the Muskies’ confidence and put them back on their heels.
The Broncos pressed their advantage and had it not been for some staunch defending from the Muskie back line, Fort High might have found themselves down more than just the one goal.
However, the momentum swung back in the Muskies’ favour shortly before the half as McTavish netted a goal, levelling the score at 1-1.
The Muskies came out to start the second half much the way they’d begun the game—dominating the play.
Several times Fort High had quality opportunities to score, but it wasn’t until McTavish broke through the Bronco defensive line on a partial break that the Muskies were able to capitalize.
The Kenora defender a half-step behind her, McTavish unleashed a hard shot into the upper corner of the goal—putting the Muskies in the lead for the first time.
A scary moment occurred several minutes later when McTavish and the Kenora keeper collided while racing for a loose ball.
Play was stopped temporarily as both players were tended to by their coaches. McTavish took the worst of the collision and needed to be helped from the field with a knee injury.
She did not return.
The physical play continued as Vangel and Hannah Firth each had run-ins with Kenora defenders. Vangel was involved in a hard collision with a Bronco player along the goal-line and also needed to be helped from the field.
Firth was the recipient of a nasty elbow in the face, but played through the pain.
Any chance of a Bronco comeback was eliminated with 15 minutes to go in regulation when Blaire Harnett scored to put the Muskies up 3-1. Harnett danced her way into the arms of her teammates as they celebrated the insurance goal.
Fort High played some solid defence the rest of the way to preserve the lead and earn a trip to the final.
After the game, Craig praised McTavish for her outstanding contribution in the win.
“She was amazing,” he said. “She created so many scoring opportunities and her effort just picked up the rest of the team.”