Douglas breaks Cypress Bay's tough defense on way to
regional finals
from Miami Hererld
For 73 tense minutes, with the entire season in the balance, two Kelseys
played to a scoreless draw. In truth, it was the Douglas Eagles and
Cypress Bay Lighting who were actually tied, but the others on the field
had long faded from the spotlight. The Eagles' Kelsey Allphin, a junior
attacker, and the Lightning's Kelsey Gil, the goalkeeper, seemed to have
the entire Region 3-6A semifinal to themselves.
Allphin would break free and fire. Gil would turn her away. Reload,
repeat, try again. Always the same result. So maybe it was inevitable that the deciding goal came with Gil on the
ground and with Allphin out of the play. Douglas' freshman forward Monica
Sanchez played hero, redirecting a cross from Sami Pineda that squirted past
the keeper, who had slipped.
Douglas 1, Cypress Bay 0. The regional finals for the Eagles. Heartbreak
-- again -- for the Lightning.
Cypress Bay (17-5-3) had never beaten Douglas (19-3-3) in girls' soccer.
It would be no different in 2009.
''It's the same game we play against them every year,'' said Kate Dwyer,
coach of the hard-luck Lightning. ``[My team] has no regrets. They left it
all out there.''
Despite the score, the game could have just as easily been a blowout for
Douglas. The Eagles had far more scoring opportunities than the Lightning.
They just couldn't solve Gil.
The senior keeper made saves with her hands, her arms, her legs and the
bottom of her feet. Had she not lost her footing in the decisive exchange,
Douglas may have never scored.
With 6 minutes, 30 seconds left in regulation, Pineda sent a pass from
the right corner that scooted past Cypress Bay's defense, perhaps putting
Gil out of position. Sanchez made her pay.
''This is something that's really big for me,'' said Sanchez, who tallied
her ninth goal of the season. ``It's something I can't explain.''
On the other end of the field, it was a relatively quiet evening for
Douglas keeper Kelsey Wys, who returned from California -- where she was
playing for the Under-18 national team -- in time for the game. She was
hardly challenged en route to her 18th shutout of the season.
''We knew this game was going to be like the state championship for
them,'' said Douglas coach Stu Katz. ``It had to be business as usual for
us.''
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