For the second year in a row, the Republic Lady Tigers toppled a #1 seed to win a district soccer championship. This year, the victim was Willard in a 2-1 Republic victory. It was senior Taylor Patton in goal for Republic, under pressure all afternoon, who took a starring role. Patton says she expected to be under attack before the game began.
“Honestly, yes, because I knew they’re such a good team, and have such a good record,” she says. “But I tried to stay positive and keep my team up, so I could keep it out of my box as much as possible.”
Willard peppered Patton with shots for much of the opening 15 minutes. But with 24:14 left in the half, Sierra Casagrand’s booming free kick from more than 30 yards out hooked just beneath the crossbar, over the outstretched arms of the Willard keeper, to give Republic a 1-0 lead. (See video.)
Nine minutes later, the Lady Tigers caught a break when Sara Marcotte tried to center the ball from the left corner. The ball arched high into the air, and somehow floated over the Willard keeper, bounding into an open net for a 2-0 Republic lead. That’s where it stayed until halftime.
Less than five minutes into the 2nd half, Lindsey Owens brought Willard back within a goal, and Willard used the momentum to put more pressure on the Republic defense. But Republic wouldn’t break, and even mounted a few scoring chances of its own, despite failing to score again.
Willard’s closest equalizing opportunity came in the final five minutes, when a shot bounded off Patton’s hands and rolled toward the goal line. It got within a foot of the goal before Hannah Wilson came out of nowhere to kick it away and save the victory.
“What I think about with Taylor at this moment is her coming to me this fall saying ‘Coach, I want to play goalie. I think I can do it,'” says coach Mike Hines. “She’d never played goalie before. So she started working in the offseason and (assistant) Shane Kennard came out and he has done a miraculous job.
“Her play in the final 5-8 minutes of this game, we wouldn’t have won it without her.”
Patton’s performance recalled a similar game last year by senior goalie Amanda Snider in the district semifinals against Carl Junction. She had what Hines calls “the game of her life” to help Republic advance.
The Lady Tigers advance to sectionals for the second time in the three-year history of their program. They’ll meet Carl Junction at home next Tuesday.
