Clinton, S.C. - Presbyterian College women's soccer saved
their best for last as the Blue Hose earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw against
newly minted Big South Champion Liberty on Sunday afternoon. While without scoring, the match had many
exciting moments including a penalty kick, shots off the goal frame and acrobatic
bicycle kicks. The Blue Hose close the
2009 season at 3-12-2 and 0-7-3 in the Big South. Liberty closes the regular season at 9-7-2
and 6-1-2 in the league which earns the Flames the Big South regular season
title.
"I firmly believe our four seniors played their best game of
the season today," said head coach Brian Purcell. "The team played as hard as
they could for all 120 minutes and I think we got as much as we gave against
the best team in the league this season.
I'm very pleased that we came out and played as hard as we could to
close the 2009 season."
The Blue Hose had a golden scoring opportunity in the30th
minute when a free kick shot into the wall struck a Liberty defender on the
arm. The referee pointed to the penalty
spot and awarded the Blue Hose their first penalty kick of the season which was
taken by senior Rachel Lamb. The Blue
Hose captain struck the ball well but Liberty's keeper guessed right and made
the save to keep the score level at 0-0.
The teams proved there was little between them throughout
the match with each squad taking control of play for minutes at a time.
In the 81st minute Britney Horton tried to get on
the end of a corner kick from Tricia Bryan with a acrobatic bicycle kick. The delivery on goal was tipped just over the
crossbar for one of Liberty's five saves in the match
With just under four minutes remaining in regulation,
Stephanie Aaron got on the end of a Katie Hunter long pass and went one-on-one
with the Flame net minder. The Blue Hose
junior shot from the edge of the six yard box on a tough angle and pushed the
potential game winner just wide of the post.
The teams finished regulation level at nil and moved to
golden-goal overtime play. The first
period saw three Liberty shots and none for the Blue Hose.
With just five minutes remaining in the match, Silvia
Betancourt's shot for Liberty looked bound for the back of the net but instead
clanged the post and stayed out of the net.
Liberty would take five additional shots in the period but settle for
the draw.
Senior Abby Young started the match and worked a total of 89
minutes over two stints for PC in goal.
She tallied four saves, all in the second overtime session. Sarah Beth Anderson played over 20 minutes at
the end of regulation but was replaced by Young to start overtime play. Anderson made two saves in the appearance.
The Blue Hose were outshot 24-14 in the match overall but
Liberty did hold a 9-1 advantage in overtime play. PC tallied six saves to Liberty's five and
the Blue Hose earned more corner kicks by a 5-3 margin. Liberty was flagged seven times for offsides
while PC was not caught off in the match.
The draw concludes the 2009 season for PC. Stay tuned to GoBlueHose.com for updates
throughout the offseason.
