Late goals give Falcons victory

Frombradentonherald.com

BRADENTON — Martine Miller stood near the midfield line alone. She was watching her teammates play defense against a pressing Palmetto squad. The Saint Stephen’s forward bided her time waiting for her chance to strike.

She would deliver two goals, including a crucial late score, lifting the Falcons past Palmetto 3-1 in Friday’s non-district girls soccer match at Turner Field.

“I can be dead tired, and then I see the ball, and I can just sprint,” said Miller, while nursing a previous injury to her right ankle with an icebag. “I just get this weird energy boost, and it just drives me to the ball.”

Miller was the fortunate recipient in her first tally. Saint Stephen’s eighth-grader Hannah Howell launched a shot toward Palmetto’s net. Keeper Danika Loggins turned the ball away, but it fell to Miller’s feet. Loggins charged forward, so instead of blasting a shot, Miller chose the delicate approach with a chip-shot goal four minutes from kickoff.

Then the game bogged down into a midfield battle.

Palmetto started to control the game’s flow as the Tigers searched for an equalizer.

Cassidy Whidden held the Falcons’ back line together during the Tigers’ onslaught. The sophomore made key clearances with her head and feet on several occasions.

On one instance, the right center back intercepted an errant Tigers pass off a corner kick, then turned upfield. She fed the ball to freshman Michelle Vogler.

But Loggins saved the early second-half chance.

“Cassidy’s always been our muscle,” Falcons coach Bill Unzicker said. “She stays back there and grinds it out, and she just fights for everything.”

However, Palmetto (13-5-1) breached the formidable defense in the 67th minute.

Tigers sophomore Irene Gallardo passed the ball through Falcons defenders to Sara Shields. The Palmetto junior raced just close enough to draw Saint Stephen’s keeper out. Then she found twine with a near post cracker.

Palmetto 1, Saint Stephen’s 1.

Miller didn’t panic after the game-tying goal.

Instead, she found herself at the right place at the right time.

Howell dispossessed the ball from Palmetto before finding Miller in open space.

Miller would do the rest, and she wasn’t worried about placement, either. She split the goalposts with a dribbling shot.

“I wasn’t really thinking,” said Miller about her 71st-minute goal. “I was just, like, shoot.”

Andrea Carrassi finished the scoring with an acrobatic half-volley after Palmetto failed to clear a loose ball.

“We couldn’t get the ball out of the middle,” Tigers coach Matt Foy said.

It was the final tune-up heading into postseason play for both teams.

The Falcons (10-2-1) head to Bradenton Christian as the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A-District 11 tournament. Meanwhile, Palmetto stays at home as the No. 1 seed and hosts of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament. Both start next week.