This game would come down to the team who kept their composure as time was winding down. It was a battle of two halves played closely as neither Maple Shade nor Schalick wanted to lose. Both of these teams were representing the South Jersey Group 1 girl's soccer bracket looking to move on in the playoff tournament. The third seeded Lady Wildcats from Maple Shade were hosting the sixth seeded Lady Cougars from Schalick. This game would end with late heroics with Samantha Bell the game winner to led Maple Shade past Schalick for a 2-1 victory.
Maple Shade would control the first and most of the second half of this first round playoff match. At the start of this game, the Lady Wildcats kept the ball in their opponents' end of the field but could not get a clear shot a the net. Maple Shade's defense finally picked up as they applied pressure moving the ball into scoring position. Amy Barniak hustled her way past her defender and got the ball inside the 18-yard line. She managed to get a shot off from the right side towards the left end of the box where Bell directed the ball past keeper Lauri Cain and into the net with 23:01 showing on the clock. That's the way the first half would end with Maple Shade leading 1-0.
As the second half began, Schalick turned up their play as each player stayed with their marks to determine to control this game. Their hard work finally paid off with 2:56 remaining in this game. Jessie Mills landed a shot over Maple Shades Allison Gunter reach to tie this game. It would seem as if this game was going to overtime, but Maple Shade responded right away. The Lady Wildcats went right to work after Schalick's goal and found a clear path through the Cougars' defense. The Barniak to Bell combination worked again at the 2:41 mark to put the Lady Wildcats in to the next round of the playoffs.
High School Soccer:
