By Dylan O’Loughlin
It was a showdown between two top teams in Wayne County as the Red Creek Mules hosted Gananda/Marion. In a back and forth battle it was tied 2-2 with under three minutes to go in regulation, with no team giving an inch it was sophomore Madison Gashlin who found the back of the net for the golden goal to lift Gananda/Marion.
“It feels great,” Gashlin said about the game-winner. “I was open and I saw the opportunity so I finished it. Usually I over hit my shots, but this time I was able to knock it in.”
Red Creek controlled pace and possesion for most of the second half, but a save by senior goalkeeper Kelsey Tandle with under five minutes to go in regulation ignited a spark. As the ball got tossed into play and G/M took control the spark started to grow. The ball ended up into the feet of sophomore Peyton DeLyser crossing it to fellow sophomore Gashlin who sent the ball into the bottom left corner for the game-winner creating a fire the Mules could not burn out.
“My teammates really are the ones that built it up from the back,” Gashlin explained. “It’s a whole team effort that’s able to get the ball up there, cross it and put it in the net.”
G/M had a 2-1 lead heading into the second half, but that washed away quickly after Bethanie Keefe put a move on a G/M defender and sent a strike into the back of the net to tie it a two apiece. The confidence never wavered though for G/M.
“No message, just keep your head up and keep battling,” Gananda/Marion head coach Emily Slentz said about her message to the team after the game-tying goal. “We can’t hang our heads when that happens and I think they did that. They just kept on pressuring.”
Even with Red Creek maintaining possession for most of the second half, the backline of G/M did not let a ball touch the net despite many chances. With 15 minutes to go in regulation, the Mules had a 2-on-1 fast break. Red Creek sent a shot into the goal, but Tandle saved it.
The ball got thrown back into play, but Red Creek stole control and sent another shot towards the goal. It was saved again, bouncing off the hands of Tandle into Red Creek’s possession again where another shot was directed towards the goal. Tandle got up, dove to the opposite side of the net and made her third save in a row to keep it a tie game.
Red Creek only got one more shot on goal after that sequence and G/M gained control of the game.
“I always tell myself, ‘See the ball, save the ball’ it can be hard being a goalie, but I love stepping up for my teammates,” Tandle said. “Especially being a senior I really want to prove to everyone how hard I worked all my years playing soccer. I kind of get into my head and I’m like ‘We just need to save this ball, we got this,’ and my teammates just hype me up right after. It’s great to be here.”
G/M opened up the scoring early, as junior Mia Marcucci crossed the ball to Gashlin for the first goal of the game just 40 seconds in.
“We’ve been talking a lot in practice about controlling the pace of the game,” Coach Slentz said. “So I was really proud of them for coming out with a really strong start, pressing the ball, playing the ball up high and pressuring goal right off the bat.”
G/M maintained possession for most of the opening 40, but after a turnover Keefe took it herself for Red Creek and delivered a strike into the back of the net to tie it 1-1 with 25 minutes to go in the first half.
It remained tied until four minutes to go in the first half. G/M earned a free kick opportunity and sophomore Hannah LaBarge capitalized on the chance sending a shot into the top left corner where no one could reach it.
Gashlin led the way with a brace for G/M while LaBarge also found the back of the net. Marcucci and DeLyser both finished with an assist apiece while Tandle made five saves. For Red Creek, Keefe recorded a brace with two goals.
With the win, G/M improve to 7-3-0 while Red Creek falls to 5-2-1. G/M looks to defend home field against Williamson (3-3-3) on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:45 p.m. while Red Creek faces East Rochester (2-7-0) on the road on Thursday as well at 6 p.m.
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