photo by Greg Davick
Not only did Boyd-Buchanan’s Emily Hauke have to step in for a potential game-tying penalty kick against her team’s biggest district rival on Tuesday night, but the Lady Bucs freshman had to do it twice.
After her first kick found the net against Grace Academy in the second half of the District 5-A/AA girls’ soccer match at Boyd-Buchanan, officials ruled that players were out of position and Hauke had to re-kick.
Just like the first attempt, her strike found the back of the net.
Hauke’s PK equalized for the Lady Bucs, and less than two minutes later, she provided the winning goal in Boyd-Buchanan’s 3-2 upset victory.
“For me, it was terrifying,” Lady Bucs coach Todd Ledbetter said of the pressure Hauke faced on Tuesday night. “For her, it shows the mental fortitude that she has to step in as a freshman and hit two PKs, back-to-back, under pressure. It tells me that she has what it takes to be a great player.”
Ledbetter said his players were nervous as they took the field against the defending district champions, but after Logan Highfield put the Lady Bucs up 1-0 about 20 minutes into the match, it gave her team a much-needed boost of confidence.
“Coming out and scoring first like that really helped us out,” Ledbetter said. “It was just that confidence booster. It was just us saying, we can score against them. They can be beaten. We knew they were a strong team, and to be the best we have to be able to beat the best.”
A penalty kick from Grace’s Holly Badger sent the match into halftime tied at 1-1, and the Lady Golden Eagles came out strong for the second period. Their work paid off when Liz Mouw’s long shot found the net to put Grace back on top with 31:15 remaining, but midway through the half, the Lady Bucs started to reclaim some of the momentum.
“Mentally, we didn’t give up,” Ledbetter said. “That’s what we talked about in the locker room. We said, if they do score again, we cannot drop. We’ve been known to do that against some other teams, but not tonight. We kept on fighting; we kept on playing our game. When you do that, good things happen. We kept on fighting, and the tide changed. Soccer is always an ebb and flow, so we weathered the storm.”
After several dangerous scoring chances, the Lady Bucs’ work paid off when a player was taken down inside the box, sending Hauke to the line for the penalty kicks. About 1:30 later, her shot rolled past the Grace keeper and into the net for what proved to be the game-winner in an emotional 3-2 victory for the Lady Bucs.
“This was a big win,” Ledbetter said. “I know that we didn’t win the district title or anything tonight, but I think it will help our confidence moving forward in the season.”
The win improves Boyd-Buchanan’s record to 5-4-2 overall, but gives them a 5-0 mark in District 5-A/AA play. Grace is now 6-2 and 2-1, and coach Gretchen Hammel said she hopes her team, which was playing with several key injuries on Tuesday, will learn from its loss.
“Both teams fought really hard tonight,” Hammel said. “Boyd looks really strong. They worked their tails off, and I know they really wanted this win. We made some mistakes, but I hope this is a game we can build on and move forward from. I want this game to hurt, but I also want them to realize it’s not the end.”
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)
photo by Greg Davick