Morse goalie Riley Walters dives after a Summer Staples goal that won the game in overtime for Medomak. (Mic LeBel photo)
Summer Staples scored less than a minute into overtime to boost the Medomak Valley girls soccer team to a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over Morse. Down 3-1 early in the second half, the Panthers (4-1-1) came storming back.
The Morse Shipbuilders (3-3) got off to a fast start in the match. After a handball foul by a Panther defender in the penalty area, Edie McKay rifled a penalty shot past the diving Medomak Valley goalie Chloe Fox.
Fifteen minutes later, the Panther’s Scarlett Flint raced up the wing and fired a shot that was saved by Morse goalie Riley Walters, but Flint was able to gather the rebound and fired it into the open goal.
Both goalies kept attackers at bay for the rest of the half, and the score remained tied 1-1. Fox had five saves in the first half for Medomak Valley, while Walters had three for the Shipbuilders.
Morse got off to a fast start again to open the second half with McKay scoring her second goal of the match after just 40 seconds had expired. McKay cut through the middle of the Medomak Valley defense and blasted a shot that Fox got a glove on, but not enough to keep the ball from deflecting into the goal for a 2-1 Morse lead.
After the Panthers dominated play for several minutes, the Shipbuilders struck again on just their second shot of the half on a nice crossing pass from the wing that was banged home by the Morse striker.
The Panthers offense was quick to respond. Less than a minute later, Flint sparked the comeback rally by scoring her second goal of the match to cut the deficit to one. She gathered a long pass from the midfield, made a slick move to beat a defender, and then chipped a precise shot just under the crossbar to make the score 3-2 Morse.
The Panthers controlled the play for most of the second half but had trouble getting another goal past Walters. After a corner kick with nine minutes remaining, Grace Townsend jammed in a rebound during a scramble near the goal line to tie the match 3-3. Fox made a big stop in goal for the Panthers with seven minutes left in the game to preserve the tie in regulation.
Early in overtime, Staples secured a long pass up the wing from Flint before sending a high spinning ball that took an odd bounce that caromed off the goalie’s hands and behind her, just barely crossing the goal line to win the game.
“We didn’t have our best game today, so we were very fortunate to come out on top,” said Medomak Valley coach Darryl Townsend. “We were undisciplined and squandered chances in the first half, but I like how the girls rallied for the win.”
Grace Townsend boots in a rebound in heavy traffic to tie Medomak’s game with Morse. (Mic LeBel photo)
