When ranked teams play each other, there usually is a battle of technique and skill that leads to a very low scoring game. But in that same battle, there are great plays that define the outcome on the match.
Both No. 9 Notre Dame Prep and No. 13 Patterson Mill saw those great plays Thursday, leading to the Blazers’ tie with the Huskies, 1-1.
Just 30 seconds away from a Patterson Mill win, the Blazers’ offense fought with Husky goalie senior Gabby Brooks just in front of the goal. With a quick slip of the stick, NDP’s Anne Federico flicked the ball into the net for the 1-1 tie.
“Their goalie and my other teammate were fighting for the ball, and it came out, and I pushed it in,” Federico said. “Communication was a big part of that goal. My teammate was the one who told me it was loose and allowed me to score.”
The two teams played in a 10-minute, seven vs. seven, scoreless overtime period.
The Huskies put the pressure on the Blazers early in the game when junior Emily Keesling took a pass from sophomore Christina Claypool and dodged two defenders before rattling the back of the goal for the 1-0 first half lead.
In her efforts, Keesling had to outrun her defender, work around the goalie and still rush the shot into the goal for the lead.
“I just kind of snapped it to myself and put it in,” Keesling said. “It was a pretty exciting goal giving us an early lead.”
The spark of offense was a welcomed change of pace for the Huskies, who were constantly on the defensive with the inordinate amount of Blazer pressure. Notre Dame Prep worked off nine corners in the first half, allowing them eight shots and keeping Brooks busy.
Brooks was almost a wall in front of the goal, deflecting seven shots in the first half and another five in the second half for the Husky 1-1 tie.
“Gabby has been with my for four years, and every year I think she cant get any better and she just continues to amaze me,” Huskies’ coach Shannon Toryer said. “She is the strongest goalie I have seen in the state, and she is confident and intimidating to the other team.”
Brooks’s confidence, along with the endurance of the Patterson Mill defense was tested in full, Thursday, seeing just a few offensive fast breaks.
“I think we dominated the whole game, just a couple times we have to get back quicker on defense,” Blazers’ coach Maggie Huether said. “We were passing well, seeing the field pretty well; we just have to make a couple smarter shots. Those two fast breaks were what tied the game.”
“I thought my girls played extremely well,” Troyer said. “They never gave up. We scored early, and we definitely got out played, but NDP has some very strong players and I think we held our own.
I think that this really showed my girls that they can hang with anybody. This team is very tough, and I think now they feel more confident going into our divisional games after this week.”
Patterson Mill starts a tough road next week, playing No. 7 Fallston, Wednesday, before taking to No. 11 North Harford, Friday. Notre Dame Prep will next face McDonogh School Tuesday, en route to No. 2 and defending IAAM A champ Bryn Mawr School Thursday.
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