Cardinal Gibbons edges East Chapel Hill girls soccer on PKs (3-1) to win
One team, one heart. That’s the trademark for the Cardinal Gibbons women’s soccer team this season, a motto that coach Michele Miller says helps keep the team fighting even during times of adversity.
Tonight, with the motto in mind, the Crusaders battled back and defeated the Wildcats 3-2, winning in penalties 3-1 after a 2-2 final in regulation
East Chapel Hill (4-5-2, 3-2) struck first with an goal in the game’s first minutes from forward Caroline Hayter. Gibbons (10-1-1, 4-0) didn’t panic.
“It was just a simple mistake,” Miller said. “Great job on their part just to finish it, but we had a lot of time to get the goal back, so we really weren’t that worried.”
They did get equalizer and pull ahead later in the first half behind two goals in short succession from Taylor Currie and Camille Latour.
East Chapel Hill tried and tried to even the score in the second half. The Wildcats finally broke through on another Hayter goal with under three minutes to go.
That sent the 2-2 game into the overtime period, and then, when that wasn’t enough, the match headed into penalties kicks.
Both teams made their first kicks and missed their second tries, but Gibbons pulled away on two successful attempts from Haley Garrett and Kaitlyn Bouck.
“We never lost our composure when it would have been easy to fold, giving up a goal after 30 seconds, but we didn’t do that,” Miller said. “We just kept battling, and that’s been the trademark of the team.”
Three to know
Taylor Currie, Cardinal Gibbons: Currie scored her team’s first goal off a long set piece. The score changed the momentum of the game and allowed Gibbons to have control of possession and pace throughout the rest of the first half.
Caroline Hayter, East Chapel Hill: Hayter scored two goals and nailed her penalty kick.
“Hayter did a good job of stealing the ball away (on the first goal) and she also had the second goal,” said Wildcat coach Austin Collins. “Both (goals were) really close to the ends there, one at the start and one at the end, so that was great.”
Reni Taiwo, Cardinal Gibbons: Taiwo anchored the Crusader back line, helping limit the Wildcats’ offensive chances.
They said it
“I thought we played really well... We had a few little minor breakdowns that resulted in goals but overall I think we did awesome.” – Maggie Holroyd, East Chapel Hill
This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 2:25 AM with the headline "Cardinal Gibbons edges East Chapel Hill girls soccer on PKs (3-1) to win."