Philadelphia - Archbishop
Ryan has had a bitter taste in its mouth for nearly a year.
It was the 2006 Catholic League girls' soccer championship
that saw the Rag Dolls lose to Little Flower in penalty kicks.
That loss hasn't sat well with the returning Ryan players
for 11 months.
Yesterday, on their home field, the Rag Dolls got a chance
to exact their revenge on the Sentinels, but in the semifinals
this time.
Like the previous title game, yesterday's contest needed
to go to overtime to decide a winner.
But unlike last November, Ryan made sure it ended in the
first extra frame.
"I've been trying so hard to just beat Little Flower," said
Ryan forward Megan Tole, whose goal in the 90th minute of
the game put Ryan in the PCL title game for the second straight
year with a 2-1 victory. "From the beginning of the year,
our goal was to beat Little Flower."
Ryan will face Archbishop Wood, which defeated Cardinal O'Hara,
4-2, yesterday behind Monica Re's two goals to advance to
Thursday's final at 7 p.m.
Tole's goal was not a picture-perfect shot to an upper corner
or a beautiful crossing play that saw her head the ball past
a diving goalkeeper.
The game-winning goal is what one would call a "fluke."
Tole had possession of the ball in the left side of the box.
She tried centering to a teammate. The ball deflected off
Little Flower defender Linsey Stack, flipped into the air,
went off the finger tips of goalie Beth Deegan and advanced
just past the goal line before Deegan could firmly grab it.
Game over.
"I knew it had to be something like that," Ryan head coach
Ryan Haney said. "I told the girls that if you want to win
a title in this league, it has to go through Little Flower.
They just showed why they are so tough."
Ryan (17-2-2) got the first lead of the game nine minutes
in when Tole out-jumped two Sentinel defenders to head in
a cross from teammate Christina Zambito.
After that, however, the rest of regulation belonged to Little
Flower.
The Sentinels (14-3-2) dominated the tempo of the game, keeping
the ball on the Rag Dolls' side of the field and recording
the majority of the scoring chances.
Little Flower outshot Ryan, 9-7, and if not for the play
of goalkeeper Jessica Koci, who had eight saves, the Rag
Dolls may have found themselves victims to the Sentinels
once again.
"After that goal, we went into a little bit of a funk," Haney
said. "We weren't playing our game. But the important thing
is we got the win. It's a monkey off your back."
And it looked like Ryan would walk away unscathed with a
1-0 win. That was until Sarah Cayer had something to say
about it.
With less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation, the Sentinel
forward/midfielder buried a low liner into the bottom left
corner of the net to knot the game at 1-1, setting up overtime.
But 10 minutes into the first extra frame, Tole tallied her
second goal of the game - her 27th of the season - and single-handedly
put Ryan in the title game, which will also be played on
their home field.
"They played their hearts out, we played our hearts out," Tole
said. "It just came down to who wanted it more and I think
we wanted it more."
The loss was a hard one to take for the Sentinels as many
of the players cried on the sidelines following the loss.
It was especially hard for Stack because yesterday was her
first game back from a leg injury that sidelined her for
several weeks.
"It was a very crazy season, but sometimes, that's just how
it goes," Sentinels head coach Markos Pittaoulis said. "Both
teams played well."
Tole and other Ryan players described the semifinal contest
as one of the most physical games they've played all season.
Now, they'll have to come out with that same intensity on
Thursday.
And it won't be easy. In their two regular-season meetings
this year, Ryan defeated Wood in the first game, 1-0, and
the two played to a 0-0 tie in the second. One thing's for
sure: This season will mark the first time a North Division
team will win the Catholic League since St. Hubert in 2002.
"The hard part is making sure they're ready to play Thursday
night," Haney said with a laugh. "We'll see what happens." |
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