Mount Airy’s girls soccer team booked its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 4-3 overtime win over Highlands.
A 97th minute strike from Paola Ramirez was the difference-maker and lifted the Granite Bears to their first-ever trip to the third round.
“Oh, it feels incredible,” said Mount Airy coach Ava Taylor. “Everyone was crying and excited, and the team was more bonded in that moment than we’ve been all season.”
The Bears, playing in their first overtime game of the season, held the No. 14 Highlanders without a shot in the first period of extra time but failed to score themselves. Neither side had a shot in the second period until a free kick from Kylie James in the 96th minute.
James’ free kick from 40 yards out penetrated Highlands’ 18-yard box but was deflected out of bounds. Mount Airy threw into the crowded box from the visitors sideline, then Ramirez shot to the far post for the game-winning goal.
Ramirez went down with an injury in the second half, but returned to the pitch with less than four minutes to play in regulation before going the distance in overtime.
“Shoutout to Paola for playing through a hurt ankle and a really bad cramp,” Taylor said. “She worked super hard tonight.”
The May 18 match not only served as Mount Airy’s first overtime match of the season, but it was also the team’s first time trailing since the beginning of the year. The Highlanders (13-6) shocked the Bears by scoring just 2:12 into the first half.
Highlands’ early strike was just the fifth goal Mount Airy (21-0-1) surrendered to a fellow 1A team since the beginning of April and the seventh such goal all season.
“That’s something we just haven’t had to deal with because we’ve had such a successful season,” Taylor said. “We knew that it was going to be a super tough match, though. We all wanted to win and knew the only way that was going to happen was for us to play our best the whole time.
“We were kind of nervous after that first goal and it took a few minutes to get over those nerves. Once we settled down we really started to play.”
Mount Airy’s shock didn’t last long as Alex Rose scored for the No. 3 Bears less than five minutes later. Ramirez pushed up the right sideline and dished to Karyme Bueno in the corner, then Bueno crossed to Rose in the 6-yard box for the one-touch finish.
“I really think it fired them up,” Taylor said of Highlands’ first goal. “At first they were a little shocked, but then it made them more aggressive and want to win more. That’s when they got more in tune to playing our game. That doesn’t always happen, so I think it’s cool that it puts a spark in them to want to win even more.”
Possession in the first half was dominated by Mount Airy. Highlands only had one shot in the half after their initial goal while Mount Airy racked up 12.
Kate Deaton put a ball into the back of the net in the 29th minute, but it was called back. The Granite Bear junior put another ball past the Highlanders’ keeper three minutes later and that goal stood.
Mount Airy went into halftime up a goal and made a plan to keep momentum on their side.
“We knew we had to jump on them immediately,” Taylor said. “We knew whoever scored the next goal would control the game. I didn’t want our mindset to get off so it was really important to come out strong, get in our rhythm and play our game.”
Mount Airy’s offensive plan worked as Ramirez scored off an assist from Deaton seven minutes into the half.
The Granite Bears had little time to rest, however, as Highlands scored just a minute later to close the gap to 3-2.
The Highlanders’ striker, who scored the visitors’ goal in the first half, caused problems for the Bears’ defense with her speed. Taylor elected to have Aliyah Flores man-mark the Highlander attacker and was happy with the results.
“She and Aliyah were a perfect match,” Taylor said. “We wanted her to mark No. 11 in the second half because she was the only one who could keep up with her. I think she did great with it.”
Mount Airy kept the opposing offense in check until the midpoint of the second half. Flores was pulled up to midfield as she stayed with No. 11 (no roster was available for Highlands on MaxPreps), then a pass to a Highlander teammate opened the visitors up for a run. This sudden attack led to Highlands tying the score 3-3.
Deaton, James and Janet Ramirez kept up Mount Airy’s pressure on the opposing defense for the latter part of the second half with Paola sidelined. The Bears wouldn’t score again until Paola’s overtime goal, but the team held the possession advantage and kept Highlands to just one shot in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Mount Airy advances to the third round and will host No. 11 Cornerstone Charter (16-3-4) on May 22. Cornerstone defeated No. 22 Carver 9-0 in the first round, then defeated No. 6 Swain County in the second round.
Cornerstone and Swain were tied 1-1 through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of extra time, resulting in a penalty kick shootout – which Cornerstone won 4-2.
“We need to use this momentum and keep our minds focused on the fact that we can do this,” Taylor said. “We all came out super nervous tonight – me included – and we didn’t know how it was going to go. We knew it would be our toughest match and we were able to beat a great team.
“Moving forward we have to keep in mind that we can compete with anyone. We can’t get down when something happens and just need to put our effort into controlling our mindset.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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