Gibbons defeats McCarthy in girls' soccer
It ended with the late afternoon shadows stretching across the field and
mingling with the chill of the early evening.
It ended with McCarthy diving and Cardinal Gibbons leaping. It ended with
one team in tears and the other in mayhem.
It ended after a long afternoon of bruises, and bodies and egos falling on
both sides. It ended after two overtimes and nine penalty kicks -- almost
three hours after the game had started. Gibbons won 3-2 after finishing with
a 4-2 edge on penalty kicks.
As if the rivalry between Archbishop McCarthy's girls' soccer team and
Cardinal Gibbons could ever end.
''It was a classic Gibbons-McCarthy rivalry game,'' said Jenny Grant, whose
penalty kick sealed the regional semifinal victory for Gibbons. ''When I
made that kick,'' she said, ``I, I don't think I have ever been happier in
my life.''
At least as happy as Gibbons goalkeeper Haylee Shoaff, who couldn't stop
smiling afterward. She stopped Chrissy Gratz, the country's leading scorer
and McCarthy's first two penalty kicks, and Gibbons raced off to a 3-0 lead.
McCarthy came back to make it 3-2 with its fourth penalty kick, then Grant
won it.
Grant's kick sailed into the right corner to end it, just out of the hands
of McCarthy goalkeeper Katrina Pasquariello, a freshman who had a brilliant
day in the
the net stopping the No. 1 team in the nation for the final 60 minutes,
holding Gibbons scoreless in the second half and two overtime periods.
The contrast on the field was riveting. Pasquariello falling to her knees as
Gibbons went crazy in a wild celebration in front of the net, a backdrop to
McCarthy's players parading off the field in tears.
April Ortenzo scored both goals for Gibbons, ranked No. 1 in the nation and
unbeaten at 27-0-2.
McCarthy, down 2-1 at halftime, got its first goal on a double-header play
when Haleigh Dunning's header found Bridget Becker in front of the net.
Becker headed in a 1-1 tie.
Brittany Williams punched in a 2-2 tie in the 69th minute.
''We had our chances,'' said McCarthy coach Paul Frechette. ``Again, Gibbons
gets us. This is a great rivalry. But I'd like to be on the other end of it.
''They are unbeaten for a reason,'' he said. ``They find a way to win.
That's what they did. They just found a way to win it.''
Gratz wasn't as kind.
She came off the field beaten up and in tears, but was defiant. ''It's so
undeserving,'' she said. ``They don't deserve to win. We are so much better
than they are.''
That's part of the rivalry.
''I'm just glad it's over with, because of the emotion'' Gibbons coach Margo
Flack said. ``It's a great rivalry, but there's so much that comes with it,
the emotion and everything else that is brought to the table.
``There's so much to this, but yes, in the end it does make it sweeter.''
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