Though the underdog against fifth nationally ranked Archbishop Mitty Monarchs, Aragon carried its momentum to finish the season with a 2-2 tie on Saturday afternoon at Valley Christian High School.
Coming into the game against the first seeded, 21-4 Mitty Monarchs, the Dons were the underdogs, but the offense showed up strong in the first half. Aragon held the ball in Mitty’s half for the majority of the first forty minutes of regulation.
With little than two minutes remaining, senior Angela Knowles powered for¬ward to the goal, but was taken down by the last Mitty defender. Mitty fullback Ni¬cole Wheeler was given a red card, leaving the Monarchs at a player disadvantage for the rest of the game. Immediately after the ruling, Aragon senior Rachel Killigrew successfully converted the penalty kick to put the Dons up 1-0.
Despite Aragon’s clear player advantage, the Dons were pushed into a defensive position at the start of the second half.
Mitty pressed into Aragon’s field and after a series of corner kick opportunities, tied the game with twenty minutes remaining.
With ten minutes remaining in regulation, a successful Mitty kick resulted in another supposed goal past the Aragon keeper. Cheers erupted from the Mitty stands until it was ruled that Aragon’s keeper was fouled in the process. Both sides mounted scoring efforts, but the game headed into overtime.
The first half of overtime was confined to midfield play and the score remained tied. With under two minutes to go in the second half, an offside call against Mitty allowed the Dons to press their offense. Knowles received a pass over several Mitty defenders and raced for the goal, avoiding two Mitty defenders before putting the Dons up 2-1 with a floater over the Mitty keeper.
The Dons victory was short-lived, though. In the last seconds, Mitty responded with a miraculous effort to the tie the game at 2-2. Seconds later, the whistle blew and Aragon and Mitty shared the awards ceremony as 2012 Division II CCS Co-champions.
Coach Will Colglazier felt the team failed to capitalize on Mitty’s disadvantage after the red card. He said, “We were hoping for a 1-0 victory. We started to play defense.”
Though Knowles scored Aragon’s final goal, she also agreed that Aragon failed to press their advantage. She said, “Even after the second goal, the game was not over and they showed us.”
Aragon junior keeper Ashley Lentz said, “We played hard every minute. That was such a great shot.”
Colglazier was equally impressed by Mitty. “Probability says they won’t make that, but of course they do.”
Though many Aragon players felt disappointed at the result, Knowles also recognized that they were the underdog in the matchup. Colglazier said, “The fact that we tied takes nothing away.”
PRESENTATION VICTORY:
On Leap Day, the Lady Dons soccer team faced off against the Presentation Panthers at Piedmont High School, with a trip to the Central Coast Section Finals on the line. Battling the elements, the game would ultimately clinch a close win through a single point during kicks from the mark.
While both teams worked the full length of the field, maintaining possession for comparable lengths of time, the first half ended at a tie of 0 to 0. The Dons were able to shutdown attack after attack from the Panthers with their systematic and airtight defensive strategy. And in goal, junior Ashley Lentz saved shot after shot.
As the Lady Dons began the second half with the ball in their possession, there was a marked escalation in offensive pressure. Indeed, six minutes into the half, senior forward Angela Knowles broke away with a fast break, and despite being closely trailed by three Panther defenders, put away a goal.
Roughly four minutes later, the Panthers would counter with a goal of their own off of a free play. Yet with 15 minutes left in the half, a corner kick from senior midfielder Nicole Rodrick set the Lady Dons up for another goal from Knowles.
Thereafter, play was interrupted by a yellow card to junior forward Addy Eveslage and Panther defender for a confrontation on the field. The episode was quickly followed by a yet another yellow card to a Presentation forward for what appeared to be a personal foul.
As the game moved into the final two minutes, it appeared that the Dons had clinched their win to the CCS finals. However, a header off of a free kick from the Panthers would tie the game, launching the contest into overtime. In overtime, both halves concluded with neither teams having scored. The penalty kick shootout would conclude with a wide shot and a save by Lentz from the Panthers, followed by three low, fast goals. Senior defender Allison Lim, junior midfielder Jenny Winterbottom and senior Rachel Killigrew all buried their penalty kick attempts. Though senior midfielder Nicole Rodrick’s attempt was blocked, Knowles was able to score the final and winning goal for the Dons. The goal gave the dons a victory and a trip to Central Coast Section Finals for the Second time in three years.
Additional writing by Sangwon Yun
