The Cats turned the table on St. Pius last night with a huge come-from-behind win in overtime on the road. The Cats won 2-1 in sudden death overtime (sudden victory if you are an optimist) to a hard charging St. Pius team to whom they lost 3-1 just four days before at home.
Foul weather forced a change of venue for the second game in a row for the Cats. The game was moved to the turf field at Winnetonka High School due to heavy rains the past few days. Not giving up so easily; Mother Nature had an ever present impact on the games as the girls fought a brutal cross wind and had to hustle to stay warm in the cold temps.
Harrisonville's defensive line was tested all night but their offside trap killed at least eight offensive attacks. The few that did break through were chased down and were methodically stripped of the ball by our defensive team. Cats Keeper Sara Clarke was active in the net the entire game as St. Pius countered quickly on more than four occasions to send players in one-on-one with her but she snuffed their hopes and came away with the ball every time except one. She was able to deflect the shot but the wind blown ball rolled into corner of the net before the defense could clear it from the line.
St. Pius was on the boards first but persistence paid off for their hard work as Harrisonville brought the game even with a goal in the second half that resulted from a scrum in the box. Two Harrisonville players sent the ball to the goal line in quick succession only to have it bounce back into the pile without a whistle. Alex Herndon finally drove the ball home to tie the game up with her second goal this year in just as many games.
The game remained tied until the end of regulation; forcing the game to sudden death overtime. Faced with two additional 10 minute halves, the Cats took mercy on all who were present and quickly ended the contest with a cross/shot from Harrisonville Forward Alex Erickson out of the deep right corner of the field. This low heat seeking missile found its way to the back of the net. The game winning goal was Alex's sixth goal in nine games this year.
The JV Cats took the field soon after the varsity victory facing waning light and the same brutal wind and cold. The halves were cut to 20 minutes as a result. The JV squad pressed the attack for almost two full halves without a goal either way. The deciding goal finally came in the last seconds of the second half when a booming shot from outside the box was deflected by a St. Pius player's hand in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Cats. Kelsie Sumner's low driving blast didn't move far off center on its way to the net so the keeper was able to get her hands on it. The shot deflected through her arms and across the line just moments before the final whistle. The goal notched another win to the JV Cat's four game undefeated season and also extended Kelsie's four game scoring streak. Holly Harris took command of the potent Wildcat defensive unit from between the goal posts and notched her second shut-out in as many games.
Well done ladies!
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