With the weight of both teams on her shoulders, Sarah Noonan calmly banged home a shot in the third round of penalty kicks to give the Muskies a 1-0 win over the Kenora Broncos in the NorWOSSA final here last Thursday evening.
The victory also propelled the black-and-gold into the NWOSSAA playoffs this Saturday at the home of the North Shore of Superior champs.
Although the Muskies played poorly in the first half against Kenora (but gradually better in the second half), it was their effort in the penalty kick session that proved to be the difference.
A low point with the team at a tournament earlier in this season in Winnipeg, the Muskie coaches made it their mission to make that area of their game better.
And it worked.
Laureen Cousineau, who had her share of problems converting penalty kicks in Winnipeg, nailed the Muskies’ first chance to stay even with Kenora.
Chrissie Thomson, Christine Noonan, and Lynn Pollard then scored before Krista Luchka missed her shot, leaving both teams tied at 4-4 after the first round of kicks.
Then, in a one-on-one showdown, Muskie keeper Amy Shute made her second save before the Fort’s Karma Chudobiak cracked a shot right at the Kenora keeper, who made the save.
But after Kenora failed to convert on their chance in the second one-on-one showdown, Noonan nailed her shot and the game was over.
Muskie head coach Struchan Gilson said the girls have made a tremendous turnaround in converting penalty kicks, which he admitted is sometimes more mental than physical.
“We went to Winnipeg and we were very weak so we had [assistant coach] Caroline [Spencer] work with the kids,” he noted. “I figured it would be nice if we were ready.
“In essence it’s easy–pick a spot and kick it hard–but it gets tough when the weight of your team is on your shoulders,” he admitted. “But our kids came through and none of their shots missed the net.
“I was really pleased,” he enthused.
Part of their success, however, could be attributed to Spencer’s scouting report on the Kenora keeper, which allowed the Muskie shooters to take advantage of her weakness on their first four shots.
Still, Gilson said his players had a good attitude heading into the penalty kicks round and figured that helped them down the Broncos.
“We had kids who wanted to have the ball and be in that situation,” Gilson said. “Most of the kids wanted to be there.”
“It gets mental, especially on one-on-ones,” agreed Spencer, who also plays in the local women’s Borderland league. “There is a lot of pressure and we were lucky enough to win . . . I didn’t know what I could say to the kids if they lost.
“But they came through, and they deserved it. They practised a lot,” she added.
But while the Muskie shooters came to the forefront when it counted, so did Shute, who was fantastic in the penalty kicks, including making a brilliant stop on Kenora’s third kick in the first round.
She later made another save off the Broncos’ first shot in the extra kicks and then watched as Kenora’s final shot missed the net.
Gilson said Shute’s play proved to be the difference in the game after keeping Kenora at bay in regulation time and then overtime.
And he admitted they will have to get that type of top-notch goaltending at NWOSSAA this weekend–and the same success if any of the games there go to penalty kicks.
