Some games are decided by what team takes advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
Clovis North girls soccer ended up looking back at what could have been in the team’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Carondelet Cougars Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Division I state playoffs.
The No. 1-seeded Broncos had decent spells of possession in the first 20 minutes, building up attacks with accurate passes in the midfield followed by perfectly-weighted through balls. All that was missing to get on the board was the cherry on top, the finish that would result in a score.
That is until Carys Hall took matters into her own hands in the 21st minute. The junior forward raced down the middle of the pitch, furiously chasing the ball into the penalty box. Her effort paid off as she was taken down and awarded a penalty.
Coolly and calmly, Hall deposited the ball into the corner of the net to put the Broncos ahead 1-0.
The Cougars narrowly missed an opportunity to tie the game with fewer than two minutes left in the half, but Broncos goalie Sydney Hancock made a brilliant diving save to keep Carondelet off the scoreboard.
But Carissa Capinpin changed all of that with her game-tying goal in the 51st minute.
Broncos forward Bella Taglione, who had the game-winning goal against rival Clovis in the Central Section championship just over a week prior, looked as if she was going to be the hero yet again, breaking away from the pack after a brilliant ball and placing the ball into the net.
Bedlam reigned in the stands as the Broncos fans cheered; that is, until the unwelcome whistle of the referee signaling offsides changed the tenor of the crowd entirely.
“[It was] a tough call,” Broncos head coach Nick Pappanduros said. “It was a close one, but we responded.”
And the Broncos had no choice but to respond if they were to continue on. What ensued, however, was a finish to regulation that turned the game on its ear.
Annaliese Giusto put the Cougars ahead 2-1 with two minutes on the clock.
That’s it, right? Cougars move on, right?
Not so fast, Antonia Piercey said.
The Clovis North senior made great use of a ball sent into the box from Sydney Smith, scooting itl past Cougars freshman goalkeeper Maddie Buckley to tie the game and send it to overtime.
But unlike during the regular season and Valley playoffs, the golden goal rule came into effect in extra time. The next goal meant sudden death and a sudden end to one team’s hopes of state championship glory.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, that goal game at the feet of Cougars senior midfielder Lexi Zandonella. S\he sent her team on to the semifinals with a score with three minutes left on the game clock.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Clovis North, no doubt. But Pappanduros glowed when reflecting on his team’s season after the contest.
“I’m so proud of our girls’ effort and what they accomplished this year,” he said. “There was nothing to hand their heads down on.”