Joey Payeur
The champs are still here.
Both the Muskie girls’ and boys’ soccer teams defended their NorWOSSA crowns here yesterday after earning byes to their respective finals.
The girls staged a spellbinding comeback by scoring twice in the final seven minutes to nab a 2-1 win over the Dryden Eagles for their second-straight league title.
“That was an awesome finish,” enthused coach Sarah Faragher, whose team now will travel to Wallaceburg for the OFSAA ‘AA’ championships June 4-6.
“To score two goals in the final minutes was just clutch.”
Elizabeth Carter had given Dryden the lead 15 minutes into the game.
A turnover by Angel McCormack in the Muskies’ half led to Carter shaking free from Erin Tomalty and ripping a shot past Muskie keeper Elizabeth Allan from 15 yards out.
Faragher decided to switch keepers and systems to start the second half, inserting Bryanna Dustin between the pipes and changing to a 3-4-3 attack.
That allowed McCormack to move up from the defensive backfield and put her play-making skills to use.
That proved fortuitous in the 73rd minute as McCormack ran down a lead pass from Jessica Steele, then sent a perfect cross into the middle to Myla Angus.
She made no mistake with her shot from five yards out past Dryden keeper Alyssa Deschene.
With the Eagles on their heels, the Muskies pressed forward in search of the game-winner.
With a minute left in regulation time, Claire Hyatt launched a textbook free kick from the right side over a four-person Dryden wall and into the 18-yard box that found Sydney Radigan, who got a knee on the ball to redirect it into the net.
“I was going to just kick it but it was so crowded, I just wanted to at least get a piece of the ball,” noted Radigan.
The Muskie boys, meanwhile, captured their fifth-straight NorWOSSA title with an easy 5-0 shutout over the Kenora Broncos.
They now advance the OFSAA ‘AA’ championships June 4-6 in North Bay.
Fort High was the beneficiary of what had to be a fatigued Broncos’ squad, which had to play 100 minutes of regulation and overtime, then go to penalty kicks, to edge Dryden 3-2 in the semi-final earlier in the day.
The Muskies led 4-0 by halftime while playing such airtight defence that keeper Gavin Richardson never faced a shot on goal or even a threat of a scoring chance.
Connor Bujold (penalty kick), Max Williams, Matt Berube, and Tyler Ruppenstein all beat Broncos’ keeper Brendan Loranger, who had been the hero of the semi-final with two lunging saves in the shootout.
Kevin Metke tacked on another goal in second half, with Muskie coach Shane Beckett giving his younger players plenty of playing time.
OFSAA rankings and schedules for both teams will be announced in the coming days.
