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Fans in attendance for the Warsaw and Carroll girls soccer game on Tuesday night were treated to an absolutely splendid match at the Tiger Soccer Complex. The game featured an early goal, two ties, late dramatics and a game-winning goal by the Lady Chargers with 42 seconds left to secure a 3-2 win.
The first 10 minutes of the match came and went with a majority of play taking place in the midfield. The two sides were occasionally able to stretch it out and make a run toward the goal in the early going, but for the most part, it was the midfielders for each team dominating play.
As the game wore on, Warsaw became the team that began to stretch things out a bit more, leading to more possession time in the opposing end.
The constant pressure eventually got to the Chargers, and an impressive steal by Amy Escutia in the open field led to the first goal of the game. After making the tackle to get the ball, Escutia hustled down the field, getting by her defender and putting a shot on goal. Her first attempt was saved, but she stuck with it and booted another ball that bounced off the cross bar and down into the goal, just barely enough to get the official signal and put the Lady Tigers up 1-0.
After scoring the opener, Warsaw continued to keep that pressure on their opponent, in some ways even applying more of it. The ball went from spending a majority of the time in the middle of the field to spending a large chunk of game time at the Carroll end. Over the course of the next 10 minutes, the home side put a few more shots on goal, but were unable to find an opening to add on to their lead.
The Lady Chargers were able to muster up some offense of their own towards the end of the first half. It started with the visitors launching counter attacks after some failed chances by the home side. Eventually, the counters began to possess the ball for longer and longer. While the possession kept the Lady Tigers from adding on to their lead, Carroll was unable to do much with it, not putting any shots on goal over the first 30 minutes. Warsaw was able to survive the late push by their opponent, taking the 1-0 lead into the break.
That lead only lasted a little over seven minutes as the second half got going. Despite the Lady Tigers putting together a few more chances early in the half, it ended up being Carroll that got on the board next. The visitors began their attack the same way most of their offensive chances got started, by countering an attempt by the home side. This time, they were able to take it all the way. Ali Bobay got the ball just past midfield and began her run toward the net. She was able to shrug off her defender with ease before burying a shot past the keeper for the equalizer.
Carroll's Lola Crawford (L) and Warsaw senior Haidyn Elliott collide while going for the ball during the first half...NIeter
Following the goal, Warsaw got right back to work and spent the next chunk of game pushing to go back in front. While the home side continued to dominate possession, it was clear the Lady Chargers had gained some confidence back when they had knotted things up. The visitors were playing much stronger on the defensive end as the game wore on, and shot attempts for both sides were becoming less and less frequent.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Carroll put together its second big chance of the game and converted on it once again. For the second time, it was Bobay making a long run to the goal. She didn’t get her shot off this time, but she was fouled in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Senior Gianna Lockman stepped in to take it, and she didn’t hesitate in sending her shot right down main street and into the back of the net. With not a lot of time left, the visitors were now holding their first lead of the night.
The dramatics didn’t stop there. Earning a corner kick with just under four minutes left in the game, the Lady Tigers elected to take it quickly. The strategy paid off, as in the confusion to get set, the ball bounced off the elbow of a Lady Charger defender in the box. The result was the second penalty kick of the night, this one taken by Escutia. She sent her shot past the keeper and into the bottom right corner to equalize things once more.
Somehow, the scoring still wasn’t done. It was clear that neither side was content to see things end with a tie, as both teams upped the intensity over the final minutes. The final chance belonged to the Lady Chargers, and they made the most of it. In the middle of it all again was Bobay, who capped off her incredible night by burying a long shot with 42 seconds left to steal the win for Carroll.
Warsaw (9-3-2) is at Northridge on Thursday.
