Sussex Academy girls’ soccer season ends at St. Andrew’s
No. 4 St. Andrew’s stifled No. 5 Sussex Academy’s comeback in the closing moments of the girls’ soccer quarterfinal clash May 23 to take a 2-1 win and advance.
Seahawks coach R.J. Dina said his team worked very hard to prepare for the smaller grass field on the Saints’ campus, but it didn’t start making an impact until it was too late.
“We talk about how the game is one of inches, every mistake is a costly one in these types of environments, and today, it cost us,” Dina said. “It took us about 75 minutes to get it together and to find the right attacking moments, which was just a bit too late. It's disappointing for this group.”
The Saints struck following miscommunication on the back end, capitalizing with a strike to the far post to get on the board first. A resilient group all year, the Seahawks' faith did not waver, but it was tested as they tried to mount a comeback. Following a few near misses, Sussex Academy went into the half down 1-0.
As the Seahawks began to press more following a stalemate in the first 20 minutes of the second half, opportunities opened up for the visitors, but so too did they for the Saints. The home team capitalized when a ball struck from about 35 yards out sailed into the net to double St. Andrew’s lead. But it didn’t send Sussex Academy packing just yet.
“We never give up on each other,” said senior Tayler Flaherty. “This team is like a family.”
Family is what the girls say when they break huddles, and they proved it isn’t just words in the closing moments. Leaving it all out on the field, chances were generated for and by Cate Brown, Deb Williams, Samira Zahraoui and Flaherty, to name a few. It would be Flaherty tucking one in from nearly 30 yards out to breathe life into the Seahawks with about 10 minutes to go and the score 2-1. The game was the senior's first back from an injury.
“After that goal, I felt like I was back,” Flaherty said.
Sussex Academy earned a trio of corners and one free kick in the closing moments, but the Seahawks could not find the equalizer. The referee’s whistle served to not only end the game at 2-1, but transfer those feelings of hope to heartbreak.
“I have to give them their flowers; [St. Andrew’s] played a great game,” said Zahraoui. “They held us; they did everything right. This honestly just hurts because anybody that knows my team knows that we are more than just a soccer team; we're a family, and all of these girls here are my sisters. I love them all. So this hurts a lot, but, if you ask me if we did enough, truthfully, I think everybody did their part. We were just inches off.”
