BY DEREK SHORE
If Webb City and Carl Junction were aiming to see just how dramatic they could make 2 1/ 2hours of postseason soccer on Wednesday night, it was only fitting that it came down to PKs.
In a hard-fought game, the Cardinals managed to battle through a pair of grueling overtime periods and ultimately prevail in the PK round to seize a thrilling 2-1 victory, and with it a Class 3 District 12 championship.
"This is the best season we've had in history," Webb City coach Nick Harmon said. "We are not done yet. We have higher aspirations than this. We are going to regroup tomorrow and go into next week with some momentum."
Webb City (21-3) meets Willard in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The start time and location is to be announced.
The Bulldogs (14-11) saw their season end despite a valiant effort. Carl Junction graduates two seniors — Emma Lacey and Jade Smith.
"Our girls did a great job," Bulldogs coach Ed Miller said. "It was just a knockdown, drag-out fight. We both had some chances going back andforth. It was like a heavyweight fight. I'm proud of our effort. Everybody left it on the field. I'm proud of what they did tonight."
After both teams traded PK scores, the Bulldogs missed high on two of their next three shots. Haven Stanley and Sage Crawford each found the back of the net to clinch the victory for the Cardinals with a 4-3 outcome in PKs. Neither team scored in regulation until the 68th minute when Lauren Burgess accounted for Carl Junction's tally. She came up with a kick that went straight to goalkeeper Delaney Duke, but with the wet conditions, the juniorfumbled the shot and the ball rolled into the back of the net for the score.
"The rain picked up right before that sequence of play," Harmon said. "It just slipped through her hands. Things like that happen in districts, but I think our kids held their composure. They took it in stride, battled right back and found a way."
Just one minute later, Webb City answered. Sophomore forward Cree Vaden blasted a kick into the back of the net from 30 yards out to deadlock the score at 1-1.
The district title marks the Cardinals first since 2018 when Webb Cityknocked off Neosho 2-1. It's the second district championship in the young history of the Cardinals girls soccer program.
"(I'll celebrate this win) with a glass of water and a fun bus ride home, celebrating with a lot of people I care about," Harmon said. "It feels great to see the freshmen I took four years ago and all the work they have put in over the last four years has come to fruition. For it to pay off for them, it's really cool."
Both keepers — Duke and the Bulldogs' Chrissy Figueroa — were busy throughout the game. Figueroa, specifically, came up big for the Bulldogs with several diving saves to keep the game tied.
"Chrissy broke her finger yesterday in practice, so I told our girls, 'Don't kick it to her too hard in warmups,' " Miller said. "She sucked it up really well. She made some great saves out there. She did a great job and kept us in the game. The girls did a great job. After this year, hopefully, we have a fire lit in us. We are going to miss our seniors. Hopefully, we come back a little stronger and take care of business.
"Webb City played great. In a PK shootout, it's a coin toss on who will win."
Joplin Globe 05/20/2021 (Used by permission)