Overtime kicks cost Lady Badger soccer team the crown
Matt Harris
Staff writer
11-10-2016
EPHRAIM—On the largest stage yet, the Snow College women’s soccer team proudly represented their infant program in a defensive grind-out championship game, but fell a few kicks short of glory.
The Lady Badgers, who achieved an undefeated season through the regular season and through the conference tournament, posting a record of 13-0-5, took it to the No. 3-ranked Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles as they fought them to a 0-0 tie in double overtime.
The championship game necessitated a winner, so the match went to penalty kicks. It was then that the luck ran out for the aspiring Lady Badgers, who were outdone on penalty kicks, 4-2.
Snow hosted the District C Championship game in their inaugural season against Laramie. The Golden Eagles came in as the favorite to win with a top-5 national ranking and a record of 18-1-1, having won 16 straight.
For two halves and two overtimes, the Snow defense held strong against one of the best offensive attacks in the country. Snow was the only team in Laramie’s entire season to hold the Golden Eagles without a goal in regulation.
In the shootout, Snow defender Ally Beeston and backup Manai Izuhara both put in penalty kicks for the Lady Badgers, but goalkeeper Hanna Johnson could not back up the success as the Golden Eagles made four goals against her.
The National Championship Tournament only allows for the champion of each district to compete, so the only loss of the season for the Lady Badgers has ended up as the one that ends their season this year.
Things are expected to look up quickly for Snow, however. The all-freshman team presumably expects to return a large portion of this year’s team next year in order to accomplish even more.
