Sixty minutes wasn't enough time to decide the Northern Region Field Hockey Championship on Thursday, Nov. 5. Two 15-minute, sudden-death overtime periods didn't yield a winner either.
With the score tied 0-0 after 90 minutes of play, South County Secondary School finally delivered the winning blow to W.T. Woodson High School in penalty strokes.
The Cavaliers could only convert on two of their four penalty stroke chances, while the Stallions went four-for-five in their attempts.
"You hate to see a game come down to penalty strokes," South County head coach Leah Conte said. "But we held on and we played hard. It's just an incredible win."
South County goaltender Kirsten Olson turned in an incredible performance and the Stallions' defense did its best to make sure she wasn't left alone to the Woodson attackers.
When the Cavaliers did manage to break free from the Stallions' defense, Olson's clutch saves killed the momentum.
The Stallions also managed to frustrate the Woodson offense, which had been held scoreless by only one Northern Region team all season — South County.
Woodson failed to convert on 17 penalty corner situations, and all 13 Woodson shots were either deflected or rejected by Olson's strong goaltending.
"[Olson] was just incredible today," Conte said. "She really kept us in the game."
Further frustrating the Cavaliers was the fact that the Stallions failed to record a single shot in the stat column through the regulation and overtime periods. The Cavaliers also shut down the Stallions’ three penalty corner attempts.
The championship game was the third meeting between South County and Woodson this season. The first match was a 1-0 Woodson victory on Oct. 2, and the second a stunning 2-0 South County win in the Patriot District Championship game on Oct. 22.
After the game at Oakton High School, Woodson forward Shelley Montgomery was named Northern Region Player of the Year for the second straight year.
"It's a great honor," Montgomery said. "I'm just disappointed we didn't win."
For more, be sure to check out Reed S. Albers' stories in The Connection Newspapers or online at www.connectionnewspapers.com.