Up 2-1, the girls varsity soccer team was playing keepaway from Atlantic Coast in the final two minutes. But with 30 seconds to go, Atlantic Coast stole the ball and got a breakaway. A long-ranged shot was blocked by center back Skye Barnes and the buzzer sounded. They had won the regional quarter-final.
“We have a great team and our bond is amazing,” Barnes said. “We have more drive this year which helped us get to where we are now.”
The first goal of the game was scored by defensive midfielder Chaney Mauer off of a penalty kick 30 minutes into the first half. The second goal was scored by attacking midfielder Megan O’Donnell off a corner kick assisted by Barnes in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Goalie Aryana Rosenblum had six saves during the game, shutting down Atlantic Coast’s offense.
“During our practices we did more fitness than we would usually to prepare ourselves and we practiced corner and penalty kicks,” Rosenblum said. “We also had one of our defenders specifically mark one of Atlantic Coast’s players so she would have less scoring opportunities.”
The strategy worked, as the team only let one goal in from Atlantic Coast midway through the second half.
“One of our main goals on defense was to stay consistent,” Barnes said. “Also, we focused on not getting too comfortable when we were up.”
Barnes has four goals and two assists this season and is the last line of defense on the team. O’Donnell has 17 points this season and Mauer has five goals and four assists this season. Rosenblum averages 8.4 saves per game.
Even though the team had stats and a good outcome from this game, they believe there are still some things to be worked on.
“We did well keeping our composure during the game but we need to work on being more selfish,” Rosenblum said. “We would have had more chances to score if we shot when we had the chance instead of trying to pass it off.”
After the strong win the team was on a high after the win as they advanced to the regional semi-final against Bartram Trails on Feb.16. This is the farthest the team has made it in the last four years.
“Even though we had a short amount of time to prepare we continued to keep the energy high at practice,” Barnes said.
The team was undefeated before this game with a record of 14-0-3 and Bartram Trail’s record was 15-4-1. Bartram Trails had been dominant by consistently making it to the regional tournament over the past couple of years and going undefeated last season, leading to them being state championships.
Bartram Trails won the semi-final match up, ending Hagerty’s season, 2-1 and leaving them with a final record of 14-1-3.
“Honestly, Bartram Trails is a great team,” Rosenblum said. “It is hard to get anything past them and we were missing a key player on our offense.”
During the game the team started off strong by holding off Bartram Trails from scoring for most of the first half, but they had a good play and were able to get a goal past Hagerty’s defense.
“It was hard for us to get up the field offensively,” Barnes said. “We had to make adjustments during the game which made gaps through our formation.”
When the second half started Bartram Trails scored another goal, securing the win. Even though they lost this game, the team is proud of how far they have come.
“We made it so far this season and I am so proud of us,” Barnes said. “I am also proud that we won districts two times in a row.”
This season, the team went undefeated until their last game, won the SAC championship and the district championship.
“The best part of this season was spending time with my girls,” Rosenblum said. “They made this year so amazing and the competitiveness of our schedule was also so fun.”
