By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Etta Herman made a pair of saves, and Kacie Salva converted the decisive penalty kick as the Penfield girls’ soccer team advanced to the New York State Class AA Far West Regional in Section V action from Webster Schroeder High School, Saturday night.
Salva was the fourth of the Patriots to connect on successful attempts.
“Coach beforehand told me while we we’re waiting at the line (center stripe) to look at the back corner of exactly where I want to shoot,” Salva said. “We’ve been practicing this for weeks on end. We keep drilling it in practice. I guess it worked. I told myself as I walked up, you got this, and I went for it.”
Following Emily Hach, Kacie Garofalo and Delaney Tellex, Salva went to her right with a shot that found the back corner of the net.
Penfield advances to the NYS Far West Regional. pic.twitter.com/lq0cgKoipm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 31, 2021
“I had total confidence in them,” Penfield head coach Libbie Tobin said. “They know how to step up when it matters. They are just those kind of kids. All year they have stepped up in the moment.”
Herman stopped consecutive PK attempts to put Penfield in position to continue its season.
“We practice these all day long, so I was used to it,” the senior keeper said. “I try to go with the flow. I try to calm myself. I stay on my toes, and I just go which way I go.”
The penalty kicks came after top-seeded Penfield and No. 2 Fairport played to a 1-1 standstill over 110 minutes (two 40-minute regulation halves, two 10-minute over time periods and two five-minute golden-goal sessions).
The teams shared the 2021 Section V Class AA title with penalty kicks determining a participant in the state tournament.
“Hats off to Fairport,” said Tobin whose team won its second title in three years and fifth in program history. “I thought they played a really good game. We had opportunities to score, but we weren’t really generating as many attack situations as we have in the past.”
Fairport grabbed an early lead when senior Katie Diem redirected a Erika Yancey corner kick for a 1-nil lead less than four minutes into the contest.
Penfield’s Anna Decker leveled the match with 9:11 remaining in the first half.
That score represented the final tally with both teams getting chances over the remaining 79 minutes.
4’ GOAL Katie Diem redirects an Erika Yancey corner kick to give @FCSDSports an early 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/QdyqenAaKc
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 30, 2021
“I told them at one point when they were feeling the stress of it, I said ‘you guys have had a target on your back all year,'” said Tobin who squad had won 15 straight games entering Saturday’s action. “‘You’ve been living this. Yeah, the stakes are a little bit higher, but you know how to deal with this.'”
31’ GOAL Anna Decker is in the finishing end of a Delaney Tellex corner. @FCSDSports 1 @PenfieldSoccer 1 pic.twitter.com/QDTz0aCvlR
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 30, 2021
The title was the second straight for Tom Natalie’s program. Having graduated its entire defensive line from the 2020 championship team, Fairport struggled at points this season as injuries and Covid-19 precautions kept the Red Raiders from putting their full lineup on the field. Fairport didn’t get traction until the end of the regular season with a three-game winning streak.
The Red Raiders dealt with more adversity in Saturday’s final when All-County performer Brigid Mulholland suffered an injury less than 10 minutes into the match. The junior keeper left the game and did not return.
First 5 overtime session ends like this. pic.twitter.com/Wgwttgt4sg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 30, 2021
“Our whole season has been a journey,” Natalie said. “We have been trying to find continuity and building and what formation to use. We finally settled in with a 4-4-1-1. We just kept practicing it. The girls started figuring it out. It really showed. They started working much better as a team, as a group. Last year, we played with two forwards and played very direct. We had to play a little different this year.
“It was us finding our mojo with this team, and it took a while. We really found ourselves as a team from the perspective of staying connected. That was the big thing.”
The sectional title represents the seventh in Fairport program history.
Penfield will play the Section VI Class AA champion either Clarence (16-0-1) or Lancaster (14-3) next Saturday at Webster Schroeder. A 5 p.m. kickoff is scheduled.
The Section VI championship is scheduled for Monday.
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