CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Thursday afternoon, Oct. 29, John Jay had visions of the Section 1 finals. Standing in their way at Contest Field was Mahopac, and 85 minutes after the start, the visitors were still holding firm. But John Jay kept the ball in the Mahopac end, and when Maye Viders was tripped at the 25-yard line, Mykel Papa couldn't help aiming for a higher calling.
“I was praying it went in,” said the senior of her free kick. Deity or not, the answer gave John Jay a 1-0 sudden-death semifinal victory.
The day didn't begin like it would go the Wolves' way, though. Valentina Ivezaj got some space in the middle, passed to an open Kayleigh, and the attacker seemed to strike gold. Not so fast. The play was whistled offside, and Mahopac had to settle.
Moments later, Jay had nearly the same feeling. Papa teed off on a free kick from the sideline, and Viders ran under it for the header. The ball went off the crossbar, but the play was also whistled offside.
Of course, the nifty ball work was far from over. Ivezaj two-stepped between a pair of Jay defenders and had enough space to hook a line drive left of the goal at 32:34.
Not to be outdone, Viders went full-body to add her own dazzle. On a high bounce, she boxed out her defender, settled the ball with her foot and sent a lead pass to Coco Inglis. With two defenders at her rear and the goalie coming from the other way, a collision sent bodies flying and the ball astray with 25 minutes left in the half.
Lila Baker never needs any inspiration and showed her usual resolve when she was boxed in on the sideline between two defenders.
“I owe the determination to my teammates,” she said.
Coming out unscathed with the ball, the defender sailed one just wide of the goal.
Back the other way, Avery Rand took one for the team. On Ivezaj's free kick, she took a blast to the gut, and the deflection allowed Inglis to clear with a header at 19:21.
Next was John Jay's main tag team. Abby Mattielo eluded a defender on the sideline, passed ahead to Viders and willed her way to the goal line. Another collision followed, as the Mahopac goalie crashed the party and broke up the play.
Viders wasn't done throwing her weight around, either. She charged down the field and was tripped on the advance. In stepped Papa at the 27-yard line, and the crossbar got more play. First, Brianna Savino got an outstretched hand on the perfectly lofted ball. After it hit the iron, the Mahopac goalie snatched the attempt at 8:45.
Jay kept at it anyway. Baker led Mattielo down the sideline, and her dance between two defenders didn't lead to a goal but had the ball bounce back to Baker. Launched from the 15, the shot still carried high at 5:25.
So Mahopac took its turn. Around the four-minute mark, the Wolf-Pac played keep-away, and Jay could not catch up. That is, until a shot sailed over the crossbar, and the home Wolves were able to escape.
Mahopac put its opponents to the test in the final minute, too. The visitors controlled the ball and passed, but when Ivezaj finally took the shot, Evelyn Hermanto gobbled up the liner to close the half.
On to the second, the teams traded sides of the field until Ivezaj got the next near miss. Playing give-and-go with her center, the ball came back on the left, and she sent Hermanto aloft. The trajectory was pretty concerning, and the crowd nervously followed along. Fortunately, the ball clanked off the football crossbar, and Jay got to live another day.
Then John Jay had another chance. At 19:34, Mahopac's defense appeared to get an arm on the ball at the goal line, and after the crowd erupted, the call came. That is, until it didn't. The referees conferred and gave the ball to Mahopac.
John Jay pressed on nonetheless, and Mattielo showed off her footwork again. After Julia Kowalczyk threaded a pass to her teammate, Mattielo danced through three defenders and got a shot off.
A little off at 11:20, the teams continued the stalemate until the clock ran out.
Overtime saw the drama tilt, though.
“The game never came to our half of the field,” said Viders.
Pressure led to a corner kick and two free kicks, but even after Viders was tripped at 11:34, there were obviously no guarantees. So Papa stuck with her routine.
“Every time I take a free kick, I know I have to take a breath,” she explained.
Stepping up, Papa's composure took over. She launched, the goalie reached up, but the curve of the ball didn't give Savino a chance.
“She was confident and struck it,” said coach Dave Nuttall.
Inglis, on the other hand, saw the writing on the ball beforehand.
“I was like, this is the one,” she assured.
On the nose, Inglis attributed the one-sided overtime to overcoming sheer exhaustion.
“We were just like emptying the tank,” she explained.
In the end, the Wolf was actually at a loss.
“I have no words,” Inglis concluded with joy.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here