SHORELINE – For goalkeeper Dee Wood and the Jackson girls soccer team a tie Tuesday night was as good as a win, but without Alyssa Hoard neither might have happened.
Hoard, a junior defender, made a critical save to nullify a sure Shorewood goal and the Timberwolves and Thunderbirds finished their match at Shoreline Stadium tied 0-0 – a result good enough for Jackson to clinch it’s fourth straight Wesco South title and a berth in the 4A state playoffs.
“Four years in a row was a big thing on (the team’s) back,” Timberwolves coach Mike Bartley said. “This was a great game to have to get this, because we knew that we were playing the toughest team in our division.”
Jackson (12-2-1 in division and overall) had already clinched a Class 4A District 1 playoff berth, but by winning the division the Timberwolves assured themselves of a trip to the state playoffs. The North and South champions play in the district playoffs to determine the district’s first and second seeds to the state tournament.
Shorewood (10-3-2) had also secured a district playoff berth and a win against Jackson would have kept its South title hopes alive. The Thunderbirds still have a chance to secure a state tournament berth as the district’s third seed.
Wood, Jackson’s only senior, has never known any result but being the division champion, but on the critical play in the 72nd minute, repeating was far from her mind.
Shorewood’s Theresa Bartlett set up to take a shot from inside the penalty box to the left of the goal and Wood came out to make a sliding save. But Bartlett sent the rebound streaking back toward the net, a sure goal in Wood’s mind.
“I was like, ‘no, don’t go in’ … I thought it was going in and (Hoard) came out of nowhere,” Brown said.
Hoard stepped into the mouth of the goal and cleanly headed the ball away, ending the Thunderbirds’ best chance on the night.
“That was awesome. (Hoard) came into the back door,” Bartley said. “That was in from our angle. (Wood) was down, the thing was hooking up … it was gone. (Hoard) just stepped right up in front and headed it out.”
After the game Hoard admitted to being unsure if she’d be able to make the play.
“I just came sprinting back from the outside to cover the goal,” Hoard said. “I wasn’t quite sure I had it.”
After a first half in which neither side appeared to gain an advantage, Jackson kept the ball in the Shorewood end of the pitch for most of the second period, but couldn’t solve the Thunderbirds’ defense or keeper Leah Butterfield, who stopped the few shots she faced.
Knowing a tie was as good as a win, midway through the second half Jackson’s strategy became much more conservative.
“We knew if we tied this game, we won the South,” Bartley said. “So we had a meeting at the beginning with my captains … we said ‘what tactics are we going to do if the game is tied or we’re behind.’ … So that was our plan, to move (forward) Kristi (Kingma) back and (defender) Meghan (Hatcher) up and have them trade.”
Both sides had shots on goal in the two overtime periods, but Butterfield and Wood held on to seal the tie – both keepers’ 10th shutout of the season.
At Shoreline Stadium
Goalkeepers-Jackson: Wood. Shorewood: Butterfield. Records-Jackson 12-2-1 in division and overrall. Shorewood 10-3-2.
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