Good Fortune Smiles On State-Bound Ferris Goal Post Stops Titans, Opens Door For Saxons In Shootout That Ends Long, Tight Playoff
Kelly McCaffery had her prayers answered.
She didn’t ask to be a hero, just to be lucky.
It’s a good thing she was, or the Just-A-Kick/ Greater Spokane League winner-to-state soccer game might still be going on.
McCaffery, the Ferris goalkeeper, didn’t come close to making a stop in the penalty-kick shootout, but University’s sixth shooter, sophomore Megan Black, hit the post. That allowed Saxons sophomore Jessica Froelich to end the game with a low roller to her left, just inside the post Black hit.
The final score Monday afternoon at U-Hi was 3-2 in favor of Ferris. The Saxons won the shootout 6-5, after regulation and two 5-minute overtime periods ended tied at 2.
Ferris advances to a seeding game with Mead at Albi Stadium at 3 p.m. Wednesday. That winner stays home Saturday against Big Nine runner-up Richland, while the loser has to take on Big Nine champion Kamiakin on the road.
“Penalty kicks are pretty hard to stop, so I just pray every time,” McCaffery said. “I kind of lucked out this time.”
Actually, the luck started a little earlier, when University senior Sara Streufert hit the post high and hard off an indirect kick with 3 minutes left in the second overtime.
“I wouldn’t have gotten it,” McCaffery admitted.
Ferris coach Robin Crain, in his first year after coaching at North Central, said, “I always believe I’d rather be lucky than good. Today we were lucky. We didn’t play very good.”
Streufert had forced the overtime with a long scoring run with 3 minutes left in regulation. She went down the right side, then crossed the ball into the lower left side of the net.
McCaffery had plenty of time to see the situation develop.
“You kind of get that feeling,” McCaffery said. “The back door was open. You kind of know it’s going to be close. She’s a good player.”
That capped a rally for the Titans, who had beaten the Saxons 2-1 during the regular season.
Standout juniors Mariah McConnaughey and Megan Cummings staked Ferris to a 2-0 lead on shots that left U-Hi freshman keeper Shoni Trickle no chance. McConnaughey took a perfect cross from Heather Lynn for an easy goal in the 30th minute. Just after U-Hi misfired on a 2-on-1 10 minutes into the second half, Cummings beat the Titans to a long clearout ball for a breakaway, rolling the ball into the right corner.
Freshman Heather Sale got University on the board in the 55th minute, dancing left to right through several defenders before breaking clear to beat McCaffery by rolling the shot into the bottom left corner.
“I thought it would be close,” University coach Brandon Deyarmin said. “One of our weaknesses all year was coming out strong from the first minute.”
In the shootout, the teams alternate shots for five rounds, with the team ahead after 10 total shots winning. If the teams are still tied, it’s sudden-death rounds. Sale, Streufert, Kaelene Parker, Leah Brereton and Elizabeth Gay scored easily for U-Hi, which went first. Ferris shooters were McConnaughey, Christine Rehwald, Julie Cummings, Angela Faridnia and Vicki Froelich.
Trickle got her hand on Cummings’ shot to the left but the ball hit the post and rolled just inside the line.
That’s when Black beat McCaffery but couldn’t get the ball inside the post. Jessica Froelich, outwardly calm, stepped up and won the trip to the playoffs with a shot to the lower left corner.
“I’m real excited. It was a lot of pressure,” Froelich said. “Normally, I don’t do (shootout kicks), I don’t have enough confidence. In practice I usually make them, though.”
Ferris 3, University 2 (shootout)
First half - 1, Ferris, McConnaughy (Lynn), 51:00. Second half - 2, Ferris, M.Cummings, 51:00. 3, U-Hi, Sale, 55:00. 4, U-Hi, Streufert, 77:00. First overtime - None. Second overtime - None. Shootout - Ferris 6, University 5.
Shots on goal - Ferris 12, University 10.
Saves - Ferris, McCaffery 4. University, Trickle 10.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo