Centennial senior goalie Erica Albornoz stopped the first two penalty shots that she faced and came up with another to help the visiting Eagles down host Atholton, 3-1 in penalty kicks, in a Class 3A East Regional quarterfinal match on Monday.
The win sets up a game with No. 10 River Hill, which outlasted Mount Hebron, 3-2 in another quarterfinal contest. During their regular season game, the Hawks defeated the Eagles, 1-0, in a close match.
“My girls fought hard and played a fantastic and totally dominant first half, we just couldn’t put one in the net,” said Centennial coach Steve Baxter. “The second half, we definitely wore down some and Atholton started taking it to us. Atholton is a very physical team and it took a toll on our players as the game went on. Coach Bob and I are so proud of our players. Now we get to prepare for River Hill on Friday and we look forward to the challenge.”
The Eagles (9-5-1) had two golden opportunities in the first half to score, one was on a shot that hit off the right post but freshman Ruthie Lucas missed the rebound attempt. The other came off of a cross pass from junior defender Jordan Coburn that Lucas couldn’t quite head-in.
“This was a carbon copy of our first game during the regular season,” said Baxter. “Centennial dominated the first half. Gradually through the second half, Atholton started taking control and had us on our heels the last 20 minutes. Overtime was relatively even, but Atholton was keeping a little more of the run of play.”
Like Albornoz, Raiders (5-6-2) goalie Amy Weinberg made saves on the first two penalty kicks that she faced before freshman Carolyn Eichhorn put the Eagles ahead, 1-0.
Next, Atholton’s Desiree Bodziony finished her shot to again even the score.
But Lauren Strayhorn and Corburn buried their shots to lift Centennial, 3-1.
Centennial 0, Atholton 0 (Centennial wins on PK’s 3-1)
Saves: C-Albornoz 6; A-Weinberg 4.
Shots: C-8, A-8.
