Fort Mill head girls’ soccer coach Ralph Latchana said his team “threw caution to the wind” to tie and eventually beat crosstown rival Catawba Ridge in a penalty shootout at The Pit in Fort Mill.
After falling behind 1-0 midway through the first half, Latchana said his team made two on-field system adjustments throughout the evening. Those adjustments eventually led to midfielder Nora Manuncy scoring an equalizer just two minutes before the end of the second half, forcing overtime and eventually a shootout. The Yellow Jackets then scored each one of their four spot kicks to top the Copperheads on the road.
With the win, Fort Mill improves to 8-4, 5-2 in Region 3-5A. Catawba Ridge falls to 13-2-1, 5-2 in region play. The Jackets swept Catawba Ridge in the season series. Fort Mill beat Catawba Ridge in region play 1-0 on March 10.
“We had to get more numbers up the field and bodies into the final third,” Latchana said, of his on-field calls. “We made a change with Nora, and she had a little bit of magic in the final third, and it’s great to see. She shows that in training every day.”
Latchana said his team has practiced its penalties and worked hard to beat Catawba Ridge from the spot. The Copperheads had prevailed in five shootouts over the course of the season up until Thursday night.
“Our luck had to run out sometime,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Joe Dority. “We were confident in our penalty kick takers. But we didn’t lose that game in penalty kicks. We got up and were too complacent, and they punished us for it. It was well played on both sides.”
Neither team threatened the opposite goalmouth in the opening 10 minutes of an even encounter.
Junior midfielder Ava Kenny was played into the Fort Mill penalty area on a chipped ball, but Kenny’s right-footed effort was saved well by Fort Mill keeper Zury Parker.
Fort Mill’s best chance of the first half, a 30-yard free kick left of center, was also handled easily by Catawba Ridge goalkeeper Emma Carricato just two minutes later.
Junior forward Cici Gardner broke the deadlock in the 18th minute for the Copperheads. The striker took control of a well-placed Brooks Dority pass on the right side of the Yellow Jackets’ box, nudged a Fort Mill defender out of her way, and finished a low shot past Parker into the far corner of the net to give Catawba Ridge a 1-0 lead.
Gardner had a chance to double the lead in the 37th minute, but Parker was equal to the forward’s long-range strike from the right channel.
Fort Mill saw more opportunities in the second half. Striker Talia Roppatte chipped an onrushing Carricato in a fast-break play, but the bouncing ball fell wide right of the post. Two minutes later, Fort Mill’s Mila Martinez found herself open in the 6-yard box, but a Catawba Ridge defender tackled the ball away from her before Martinez could convert.
Dority lashed a left-footed shot in the 69th minute, but it rose too high of the bar.
The referee showed a red card to a Catawba Ridge assistant coach in the 72nd minute after arguing a foul call.
With just two minutes left in regulation, Fort Mill finally equalized. Manuncy settled a pass at the top of the Catawba Ridge box, played a touch to the right, then finished with a hard, right-footed shot into the far corner of Carricato’s goal, sending the Yellow Jackets’ bench into a frenzy.
Following a scoreless pair of five-minute overtime periods, both teams went to a shootout.
Each of Fort Mill’s kick takers scored, while Catawba Ridge missed its last two shots.
“We lost a close game to Nation Ford on Tuesday,” Latchana said. “But on any given day, I think anyone can win. There are very small margins in this region. I feel that from the 30th minute, we dominated the game. We showed the quality and strength of the squad throughout. I’m glad we were able to finish strong.”
Both teams return to action 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14. Catawba Ridge travels to play Northwestern in Rock Hill, while Fort Mill next hosts Clover High.
