Wednesday, May 22, 2002
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Wednesday, May 22, 2002 |
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Lady Panthers win a share of the soccer title By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Starr's Mill's girls soccer team is back on top of the soccer world, though they are sharing the view. The Lady Panthers played Pope in the AAAAA state finals on Saturday night and tied 2-2. It was Starr's Mill's first championship in AAAAA and first since back to back AAA titles in 1999 and 2000. The game also marked Coach Jill Crepeau's final game at the helm for the Lady Panthers. Crepeau will coach at Northview High School next year. Starr's Mill had yet to give up a goal in the state playoffs but their unscored upon streak only lasted 15 minutes before Pope scored. Starr's Mill answered a minute and a half later when Sarah Burke scored after an assist from Allison Graham. The momentum shifted yet again when Pope scored two minutes later. The game went back and forth for the remaining 20 minutes of the first half. Starr's Mill would make a run towards the goal and Pope would counter before Starr's Mill regained possession and made another run. As the half wore down the play got more and more physical and with nine seconds left in the half Graham got a yellow card. Down 2-1 at the half, Starr's Mill came out fired up and had a number of scoring opportunites but couldn't capitalize. The Lady Panthers finally broke through near the 20 minute mark when Graham headed the ball past the Pope keeper to tie the game. The remainder of the half featured lots of Starr's Mill pressure and near misses for both teams. The Lady Panthers almost netted the game winner several times in the final minutes of regulation but couldn't get it past the keeper. The two teams squared off for two ten minute overtime periods and both played out like the rest of the game. Starr's Mill had great ball control, put lots of pressure on the Pope defense and just fell short. Pope would counter well and try to slip their forwards past the Starr's Mill defense. Neither team could complete the final push for the winning goal and the game ended in a tie. There would be no shootout to determine the winner and it seemed fair. Both teams played great soccer and deserved the title. The two teams were named co-champions and will undoubtedly meet at least once again next year. The game will air tonight on TV33 at 9 p.m.
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