MEDFORD, Ore. – After 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods failed to break the deadlock, Rocky women's soccer advanced to the Cascade College Conference semifinals in dramatic fashion with a 6-5 advantage in penalty kicks over Carroll College.
Goalkeeper Matea Vernon proved pivotal when the Battlin' Bears needed her most, saving five penalty kick attempts and converting one of her own to set up Olivia Goddard for the clinching goal.
How it happened
In a back-and-forth first half, Rocky found the scoreboard in the 31st minute. Mia Daskalovska made an athletic slide to keep the ball in bounds near the goal and found an open Charlize Davis. Davis rocketed a high shot over the outstretched hands of the Carroll goalkeeper, giving the Battlin' Bears a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Battlin' Bears generated a solid attack in the second half, putting seven shots on frame, but Carroll goalkeeper Maria Ackerman kept Rocky at bay, saving all seven attempts. The Fighting Saints found an equalizer with just 90 seconds remaining in regulation, collecting a clearance attempt off a Rocky corner kick and finding a gap in the Battlin' Bears' defense to tie the match late. While the Battlin' Bears earned a penalty kick opportunity in the final 15 seconds, Ackerman made another quality save to force overtime.
Rocky put two more shots on goal in the first overtime period, but they were turned away. In the second overtime, Carroll tallied the lone shot attempt, but the Saints missed the mark, sending the match to a penalty kick shootout.
Vernon shined in the shootout, just as she has all season, turning away five Carroll attempts, including two consecutive saves to close out the match. Gracie Clarkson, Charlize Davis, Mia Daskalovska, Matea Vernon, Ava Gibson and Olivia Goddard all converted their penalty kicks, with Goddard's strike clinching the victory and sending the Battlin' Bears to the CCC semifinals.
Notable statistics
Overall, the Battlin' Bears outshot Carroll 21-12, putting 12 shots on goal compared to the Saints' six. Charlize Davis led all players with nine shots, five of which were on frame. Matea Vernon recorded five saves in the winning effort, while Ackerman tallied 11 for Carroll.
Third-seeded Rocky will take on No. 2 seed Southern Oregon in the CCC semifinals on Monday at 2 p.m. MT.
This content is sourced from
Rocky Mountain College
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