Caroline Holland fires a shot on goal off an Ava Williford corner kick getting Clinton’s best look at the goal in a defensive struggle.
Horses fall to late goal in East Regional Final
Kam Worley clears the ball, diverting a second half Hawks run, making just one of many fine defensive plays during the Eastern Regional finals on Tuesday night.
Laynie Brock (24) stymies a first half scoring threat getting her foot on the ball to gain possession for the Dark Horses.
Clinton’s Evan Gillespie moves the ball toward the goal late in the match.
Clinton keeper Kailee Parrish cradles the ball while making a diving save during first half action. Parrish faced a barrage of Seaforth shots, yielding only once on a late game laser shot late in the match.
Clinton’s Evyn Johnson uses her head to clear a Seaforth shot early in the match. Johnson repelled shot after shot out of Dark Horse territory, helping to keep the Hawks scoreless for much of the contest.
The Lady Dark Horses hit the road on Tuesday night, seeking another upset win to punch their ticket to the 2A State Championship game this weekend. This time, their opponent was No. 4 seed Seaforth, a team that Clinton tangled with earlier this month. After a gritty, defensive performance from the Lady Dark Horses, who put up a valiant effort, battling through injuries became too much for them as the Lady Hawks punched a goal in late to take a 1-0 victory and end Clinton’s season.
A beautiful game of soccer was on display in the early going of Tuesday’s s game. Both teams were fighting for an advantage, looking to get some magic going from the onset. Though possession was held primarily in the Clinton defensive zone, the Lady Horses were doing a great job of limiting the Lady Hawks chances. After thwarting a few opportunities, Clinton gradually began to work their way out toward midfield. When the game reached the 20:00 water break, the game was a dead heat at 0-0.
When play resumed, Seaforth returned to being the aggressor, keeping possession at midfield and down into the Lady Dark Horses zone. At the 14:25 mark, Clinton goalkeeper Kailee Parrish received some assistance from the crossbar as a Lady Hawks shot on goal just missed. After that, Seaforth really ratcheted up the pressure, getting another shot that was swallowed up by Parrish. They were relentless in their assault and physically the Lady Dark Horse defense was paying the price. Clinton was visibly gassed but nonetheless they stood tall and turned away several opportunities from Seaforth to preserve the 0-0 tie at halftime.
Out of the break, a nice shade was working its way across the field – a welcome sight for both teams that had endured blazing sunshine and heat in the first half. Clinton did a nice job adjusting early in the second half, seizing possession and getting a few chances to get things going on their end. Just as quickly, though, Seaforth worked their way back in deep and fired another shot on goal, which was batted away high above the Lady Dark Horses goal with 33:00 to go.
Back and the forth, the battle waged and with 23:00 to go, Clinton fended off their biggest challenge of the game: a PK from just out front of the goal. The shot was on line but sailed too high above and went harmlessly out of play, leaving the score 0-0.
After nearly 30 minutes of near-perfect defense, Seaforth found a wrinkle and worked the ball deep and out front of the goal. With 13:29 left, Elizabeth Platt got the go-ahead goal for the Lady Hawks, utilizing the open upper space to float one in over Parrish for the 1-0 lead.
Clinton, now in search of a rally, found some aggressive play of their own and turned up the pressure. They fired a shot on goal but it missed high. Seaforth worked possession back to the other end as the clock ticked below 10 minutes and time was running out.
Clinton’s best chance came with 1:10 go on a corner kick, which found the foot of Caroline Holland straightway of the goal, but Holland couldn’t make solid connection and the opportunity was thwarted.
With that, possession transitioned back the other way and Seaforth ran out the clock for a 1-0 victory.
“It was a very unfortunate result tonight,” said Clinton head coach Adam Smith. “But we as a coaching staff could not be prouder of our girls. We felt like we could have gotten a different result out of this game. We knew it would be tough but the girls never gave up throughout the game and gave every single drop of effort they had tonight. As a coach that speaks volumes of our players and our program and that makes us very proud.”
Emotion was on display across the field from the disappointed Lady Horses but they certainly have nothing to be ashamed of in what has been a remarkable postseason journey. As a No. 10 seed, Clinton tallied three straight wins against higher-seeded opponents, including upsets over No. 2 Manteo and No. 3 Roanoke Rapids in back-to-back games.
That was certainly a point Smith wanted to emphasize as well. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce our way and that’s hard to cope with at times but these players have nothing to hang their heads about,” Smith continued. “We want to thank our seniors for everything they have done for our program. They have reached the East Finals four years in a row and that’s hard to do in any program. We’re proud of how the team stayed strong throughout the season and we’re proud to be their coaches,” Smith concluded.
Now with their season concluded, Clinton finishes the season at 17-11 overall and NCHSAA 2A East Runner-Up.