Sasha carbone (17) of GPS fights for possession of the ball during the Bruisers' 2-1 overtime win in a DII-AA semifinal match Thursday at CCS.
photo by Greg Davick
Sasha Carbone’s early overtime goal earned GPS a Division II-AA State Title birth in a 2-1 thriller vs Hutchison.
“Its the end of the run. Go big or go home.. Scoring that winning goal makes it so much more special,” said Carbone.
Everyone was aware this game could be their last, and to say the least, no friends were made out on the pitch in this one. Both teams scratched and clawed their way to the finish line, especially Hutchison, who seemed to have the game plan of playing as physical and aggressive as possible. From the opening kickoff, their a big part of their game plan was evident and even audible..
“Don’t let 33 hurt us,” yelled Hutchison coach Clinton Browne.
Kennedy Ball, 33, is, as her coach said earlier in the year, “one of the best players to come out of Chattanooga in the last 20 years.”
Hutchison knew that and made sure she wasn’t getting anything easy. They assigned a defender to essentially face guard Ball and play her as physical as possible. Ball grinned early on as the Sting defenders grabbed, pushed, and shoved her and much as they could to try to keep her from impacting the game like she always does.
“It is frustrating for Kennedy, but it also helps us because we can move those players around, and do different things to get people into empty space. They overplay and then Kennedy makes a run, all of a sudden there’s not two centerbacks. We can get into that space,” Said GPS coach Patrick Winecoff of the gameplan.
Ball did as the best do, however. In the 10th minute, she fought off a defender for the ball in the box, proceeded to juke two defenders, and then got tripped resulting in a free kick. Ball scored it with ease and gave GPS the 1-0 lead.
Even though it cost them, the physical play kept on, and it wasn't just limited to Ball. Her running mate, Sasha Carbone took a beating as well.
“They fouled and tripped in the box. They probably fouled Sasha 15 times. She was just getting hammered. She is incredible strong and does a great job just gathering herself and getting right back up and back at it. I told them all I was proud of all of them for not losing their cool and trying to play some good soccer anyway,” said Winecoff.
It didn’t take long for Hutchison to respond, and in the 20th minute, Molly Browne scored a goal of her own to tie things up. After the goal, it seemed like their physicality was working, and they took control of the momentum, and the game.
Things were chippy, but they were working for Hutchison. The usually imposing front line trio of Carbone, Ball, and Hayden Wise were seemingly neutralized, and while they had their fair share of counter attacks, nothing resulted of them.
In the last minutes of regulation, GPS tried and tried again to score, by stellar keeper play from Hutchison’s Kate Wunderlich was on full display - especially with her game-saving stop with 10 seconds left in regulation.
Though they hadn’t truly got anything going since Kennedy Ball’s free kick early in the game, Winecoff loved the progress his team had made in playing through the rough defense, and his confidence that his team was going to break through never wavered.
“I was a little disappointed that the officials didn’t limit (physicality) more than they did, but everytime we got an opportunity to counter attack we got fouled… You’re just holding your breath like we’ve got a chance, are you going to get fouled… I feel like they ran out of gas a little bit. We wore them down, and once we get rolling we are relentless,” said Winecoff.
Seven minutes into the first overtime period, in an almost fitting manner after the beating she had taken, Sasha Carbone delivered the dagger.
After receiving an advance from Ball and putting together two or three great touches to keep the defense out of the play while also keeping distance from the keeper, Carbone was left with a one on one with the Wunderlich from a difficult angle. She rocketed the ball off the diving Wunderlich’s hands and into the back of the net, to give GPS the lead with 13 minutes to go.
“I was just hoping that it would go in. It was a little stressful, but when I saw it go in I was overwhelmed with emotions. It was really exciting,” Said Carbone.
Hutchinson’s strength was their defense, and with such little time remaining, they couldn’t recover. They had a few late chances, but no threatening shots on goal.
GPS exuberantly stormed the field, as they earned a birth in the State Championship in their hometown, after a 2-1 classic.
“Everybody is excited. It’s an honor to be able to play in the finals in Chattanooga in front of your friends and family,” said Winecoff.
It was nothing short of satisfying for Carbone and her teammates to come out on top in the brutal battle that this game was.
“We deserved it… I play aggressive too sometimes so I understand it, but it was nice that they lost because they deserved it.”
Things won’t get easier, however, their opponent, Briarcrest Christian plays very similar to Hutchison and bested Baylor with their play earlier in the day. Saturday’s contest for the title at Red Wolves Stadium, will likely be the same style of game and hopefully just as entertaining.
SUMMARY
GPS 1 0 1 0 - 2
HUTCHISON 1 0 0 0 - 1
GOALS: Kennedy Ball 1, Sasha Carbone 1 (GPS); Molly Browne 1 (Hutchinson)