LONGVIEW, Texas-Two overtimes and nine penalty kicks later, it all came down to Spring Hill's best player, Camie Copeland, against Pleasant Grove's senior goalie, Libby Blair.
PG boys lose, 2-0
KILGORE, Texas-Kilgore senior Christian Galvan broke a scoreless tie with 11:44 left in the first half, and the Bulldogs added a second goal later in the game to edge Pleasant Grove, 2-0, in the second round of the UIL Class 4A playoffs Friday night. The season ends for the Hawks, who played once-beaten Kilgore a very good game. Kilgore (16-1-7) moves on to round three, to face either Mabank or Liberty-Eylau. Kilgore missed several shots in the contest, especially in the first half, and some of that was due to nice work in-goal by Pleasant Grove's Matt Day. The game went to the half with Galvan's goal the difference, Kilgore leading 1-0. Kilgore doubled that lead in the second half when Andrew Espinoza scored off an assist from Jesus Gonzalez. -Kilgore News HeraldLike a tightly wound spring suddenly freed, Blair leaped toward the screaming sphere and blocked the shot with her shins to give the Lady Hawks a 2-1 win, a Class 4A area championship, and a regional quarterfinals date with Athens on Tuesday in Hallsville.
"It was just God," Blair said. "I prayed, and that was God."
It was also Blair, whose save of a ball careening wildly toward the net with 24 seconds left in the second overtime allowed the match come down to five penalty kicks apiece.
Even that outcome that seemed unlikely in the match's opening moments.
With two starters out to injuries and five freshmen in the lineup, Pleasant Grove came out playing tentatively.
Pine Tree looked like the veteran, physical club that it is, knocking Hawks to the turf on five occasions. Copeland drew a yellow card for a particularly vicious hit midway through the opening stanza.
Pine Tree got on the scoreboard with 27:57 left in the first half.
Awarded a free kick from 38 yards out, the Pirates' Copeland lofted the ball to the middle of the field, roughly 12 yards from the goal, where Avery Barnhill redirected it into the middle of the net.
After the half, the Hawks seemed to play harder, giving as good as they got in physical contact, and out shooting the Leopards, 6-2.
"They just grew up right before our eyes," PG coach Andy Allen said. "We talked about it at halftime, that we had to match them in intensity.
"This was just a microcosm of everything we've been working on," Allen added. "They're learning that if they work hard, good things will happen."
Pleasant Grove knotted the score at one with 20:34 remaining in the second half. Avery Jensen lofted a shot into the right corner of net from 30 yards out.
That's where it stayed for the next 40 minutes of play.
Pleasant Grove's Kylie Rogers drove home the first penalty kick, and was answered by Spring Hill's Destiny Walker. PG's Hailey Hearn made her shot, but the Panthers' Grace Stark sent one wide right of the net to give PG a 2-1 advantage.
That evened up when a PG shot was blocked and a Panther shot made.
Hannah Griffin and Brooklyn Puzz both made their shots to make the shootout score 4-3 and set up the final shot.
The match was as even on paper as it was on the field of Pirate Stadium. Both teams launched 10 shots. Pleasant Grove had seven shots on goal and Spring Hill five. PG had four saves and Spring Hill six.