It took two overtimes to finally settle the district 1-1A championship on Thursday evening at Civitan Park and when the whistle blew it was University High coming out with the 4-3 win over Elizabethton in girls soccer action.

A mistake on the Lady Cyclones back line led to the Lady Buccaneers first goal as Samantha Grillo swept past sophomore Cassidy Kaldy and fired her shot past EHS goalkeeper Linda Espino for a 1-nil lead.

The Cyclones (6-1-2 conference, 11-5-3 overall) got the equalizer on a beautiful left-footed shot by freshman Cami Davison that knotted the score at 1-1 in the 22nd minute of play. The match saw end-to-end play by both teams, but UH managed to take the lead back early in the second half on a fine through ball from senior Maya Houston to Sarah Robinson who finished the play and put the ball past Espino for a 2-1 Bucs lead.

“At the beginning of the second half we had two really good chances but we were just unable to capitalize,” said Lady Cyclones head coach Bill McClay. “Then we went down two, but we didn’t collapse. We forced the play and earned two goals back and in the second overtime we had the ball in front of the goalkeeper twice on the ground and couldn’t nudge it in.”

UH scored in the 55th minute on a shot by Annika Oiler whose bouncing shot eluded Espino, who showed her frustration by pounding the ground. Freshman Reagan Armstrong came in to replace the distraught senior keeper.

With time running out in regulation EHS senior midfielder Haley Burleson gave the team a huge lift as she pounded a shot past Bucs keeper Elizabeth Burns to cut the deficit to 3-2. Burns would make a critical mistake in stoppage time as she fielded the ball outside the penalty area and the Cyclones were awarded a free kick.

Senior Kim Henson drove a high shot just under the crossbar to tie the match at 3-3. Just before the whistle to end regulation Houston collected her second yellow card and was sent to the sideline for the remainder of the game which meant UH had to play a man down.

“After going a man down, I can’t tell you how proud I was of these ladies,” said Lady Bucs head coach Dan Almond. “Most teams when they get in a man-down situation, play not to lose. That’s not our style, we will always be aggressive. I told the team to calm down after Maya went out.

“I think we play soccer the right way, we try to play the beautiful game the way it is supposed to be played. I told them to just enjoy being out there and everybody settled in and played great.”

The first overtime period saw EHS fire three quality shots at Burns only to be turned away while the Bucs Gwen Kirsche had a shot for UH that Armstrong handled with no rebound.

In the second overtime, Henson had a free kick from 20 yards out that was defended by the Bucs back line but in the 96th minute, senior Gracie Somich fired a shot from the far sideline that deflected off the left post and squeezed past Armstong for the game winner.

“That last goal came on a deflection and it’s an unfortunate way for it to happen,” McClay said. “We had a few chances after that but just couldn’t make it happen. We switched things up a little bit when we got down two goals, and it worked, they responded. All in all, it was a great game for the fans to sit and watch.”

EHS must now travel to Greeneville to take on the Lady Greene Devils in the region 1-2 A opener on Tuesday at 6 pm.

District 1A Championship

University High 4-3

Elizabethton    1 2 0 0 – 3

University High    1 2 0 1 – 4

Scoring Summary

First Half

UH – Grillo (assist – Robinson) 20:00

E – Davison (unassisted) 22:00

Second Half

UH – Robinson (assist – Houston) 43:00

UH – A.Oiler (unassisted) 55:00

E – Burleson (unassisted) 68:00

E – Henson (FK unassisted) 78:00

Second Overtime

UH – Somich (assist Henley) 96:00