Going for Gold! Lady Dragons get signature playoff win, will play for D-10 title
And exhale.
Finally.
Three years of agony, frustration and disappointment were exercised as the clock struck all zeroes on the pitch at Greenville High School Monday. Now, the Warren girls soccer team will get their shot at District 10 gold following a 2-0 win over Meadville in the D-10 Class 3A semifinals.
“All the hard work, the training, we’ve finally done what we knew we could do,” Warren senior captain Mackenzie Bickling said.
Warren was facing a familiar playoff foe Monday evening. Meadville had knocked the Dragons out of the playoffs the last two seasons. The teams had split their two regular season meetings this year, with each winning on their home turf. On neutral ground, the teams showed just how evenly matched they are as the action got underway.
Six minutes into the match, Meadville’s Addie Phillis got free on a breakaway down the right side. Phillis fired a shot to the far post that was just out of Warren keeper Alyssa Anderson’s reach, but the ball traveled past the left post and harmlessly out of bounds.
The Dragons answered with a quality chance of their own two minutes later. MJ Fadale took the ball in the offensive zone and centered a pass to Kyra Wotorson. Wotorson shot to the net, but Bulldogs keeper Nicalette Fuller was able to gain control of the ball before Wotorson could follow-up the shot.
And so it went through the first half, the Bulldogs would nearly get a breakaway, but either Anderson or Dragon defenders were able to clear. Warren would answer with sustained pressure on the offensive end, but Fuller and her defenders kept the ball out of the net.
Warren finally found the answer at 25:11. Fadale grabbed possession off the left post and just outside the box. Her first shot was blocked, but the rebound came right back to her and she sent a laser to the far side and in.
“(Getting the first goal) was important,” Warren coach Jeremy Bickling said. “It calmed them. They were able to settle down and play.”
The goal energized the Warren sideline and the players fed off that energy.
“I’ve never been that pumped before,” Warren junior forward Sawyer Mohney said.
The Bulldogs weren’t going to go quietly into the night. Meadville found a way to get constant pressure in the offensive zone late in the half and forced Anderson to come up with a couple more big stops. The freshman keeper was up to the task and kept it 1-0 going into the half.
“You always worry about a late goal,” coach Bickling said. “The last minute or two seems to be the most dangerous.”
Warren was able to carry all the momentum into the second half. The Dragons controlled possession for virtually all of the final 40 minutes. Still, they weren’t able to solve Fuller and Meadville tried to ratchet up the pressure.
With 15:21 to play, Mohney came up with perhaps the biggest goal of Warren’s season to date. After two near misses, Mohney – who became the first female to kick a field goal in Warren football history on Friday – got the ball on a sharp angle from the right side. She shot high to the far side and the ball traveled past the reaching Fuller and into the back of the net.
“The energy was up (following the goal),” Mohney said. “Everybody was up.”
During the final 15 minutes, Meadville tried to spring their forwards for a breakaway chance. The Dragons defense held steady and cleared every attempt that came their way. The Dragons nearly turned a couple of those into a third goal late the game.
With the ball in the Meadville end, the public address announcer began the 10 second countdown. Mackenzie Bickling stole a glance at the scoreboard and as the countdown reached zero, all the emotions from previous years came out and drove the senior to her knees with her head buried in her hands near midfield.
“It’s been four years,” she said. “We knew we could do it.”
“This is huge,” coach Bickling said. “To go somewhere we’ve never been. We’ve had playoff goals and to beat the team that’s taken it from us…”
The Dragons will face Hickory (7-0 winners over Franklin) in the D-10 finals Wednesday at a time and location to be determined. Warren dropped both regular season meetings with the Hornets this season, but hopes to ride the wave of momentum from this win.
“We held them really well before,” Mohney said. “We can do it again. We just need to have the right mindset.”
Mackenzie Bickling offered a different perspective to the title game.
“More is expected from them,” she said. “We have nothing to lose.”
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