By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON — Losing the state championship match on a sudden-death penalty kick was a heart-breaker for the Notre Dame girls’ soccer team. The fact that the Pandas had the lead taken away from them twice made it even harder to handle.
West Jessamine senior defender Eddie Meyer put the first ball in the net during the sudden-death round of penalty kicks to give her team a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame in Saturday’s title match at Lexington Lafayette High School. This is the second straight year that the Colts have taken home the championship trophy. They won two of four matches on penalty kicks in both state tournaments.
With eight minutes left in the second half of Saturday’s match, Notre Dame senior midfielder Maddie Wilhoite put a free kick into the net. As the Notre Dame players were celebrating, however, officials disallowed the goal because of a goalkeeper obstruction penalty.
In the first round of penalty kicks, the Pandas took a 3-1 lead and needed one more to win the match. But their final two attempts were blocked by West Jessamine’s goalkeeper and the Colts tied it, 3-3, to bring on the sudden-death round.
The Notre Dame players were wiping tears from their eyes after the match ended until coach Dave Gronotte reminded them of how far they had come this season. The Pandas made it to the state championship final for the first time since 2013 with several first-year starters in the lineup.
“A lot of people said we wouldn’t be very good this year because we lost so much (to graduation) and they stepped up in a big way,” Gronotte said of the nine seniors on the roster. “We had adversity through the year and they figured it out. They’re great leaders and great players and I’m extremely proud of them.”
Notre Dame’s defensive players did such a good job during the championship match that senior goalkeeper Cassidy Craig was credited with only one save during 90 minutes of play. West Jessamine sophomore goalkeeper Anna Rexford made four saves and had to come off the line a couple times to pounce on balls before Notre Dame players could line up shots.
“Defensively, we’ve been great,” coach Gronotte said. “We just had a hard time breaking down their defense and getting any real good solid chances. And their keeper is very good, so credit to them for that.”
In the second half, Notre Dame had three scoring opportunities on free kicks. On the first one, Allison Robertson arched a ball into the penalty box and teammate Maya Decker headed it over the cross bar. Wilhoite’s shot was wide on the next free kick. Then she put the ball in the net on a free kick in the 70th minute, but it was negated by the obstruction penalty.
“I couldn’t see it from over here (on the sideline) so I’m not going to question the call,” Gronotte said. “We were told that somebody hit the goalie and knocked her down. I have to trust that was the right decision. We just needed to rebound and score again, and we just didn’t.”
Late in the second half, Morgan Pence of West Jessamine threatened to score on a breakaway run. But she didn’t get off a shot because Notre Dame defender Kylie Long took the ball away from her near the top of the penalty area.
Notre Dame senior forward Audrey Muck made a run on goal in the final seconds of regulation. West Jessamine’s goalkeeper came out to challenge her and took the ball away with a sliding stop.
The score remained 0-0 after two five-minute overtime periods so it went to a penalty kick shootout. Notre Dame converted on its first three penalty kicks, but the next two were blocked and first one in sudden-death sailed over the goal.
“Going into PKs is tough,” Gronotte said. “We practice those all year long, but it’s always a different environment when you step up there for the state championship.”
Wilhoite, Muck and Craig were the three Notre Dame players named to the state all-tournament team. They’re three of the seniors who led the Pandas to their seventh consecutive regional championship and a return trip to the state final this season.
“The vast majority of us (seniors) have been playing together since we were 5 years old so we already had that really special bond,” Craig said. “And we all connected with the underclassmen so we were able to blend really well and that allowed us to play really well on the field.”
“I’m happy with the people I ended it with,” Craig added. “I wouldn’t want anybody else with me.”
FYI Cassidy Craig had two saves, please correct your story. And the game was clearly biased and taken away from us by unprofessional, biased officials (if you want to call them that).
The official stats on the KHSAA website listed Cassidy Craig with one save during 90 minutes of on-field play. There are no saves in penalty kick shootouts.
“We were told that somebody hit the goalie and knocked her down. I have to trust that was the right decision.”
Classy response but I have a yet to a video replay or photo that supports that anyone hit the goalie and knocked her down and that call should be pretty obvious if the AR is going to take a goal off the board.
Really bad call and unfortunate for NDA but life goes on. Good coaching opportunity that sometimes you have battle through adversity and life’s not always fair.