‘A Game of Inches’: Post Gets in Way of NC Girls Soccer’s Upset Bid, Ties Westhill 1-1

After a disappointing home loss to Trumbull on Tuesday, the Rams (3-2-3) were back in action Thursday afternoon against Westhill (6-0-2). And after a back and forth contest against the FCIAC’s co-No. 1 seed, with the clock running down on the Rams in the second half and the score tied at one, the ball found Maeve Selvaggi’s right foot. From point blank range, in an attempt to avoid Westhill goalkeeper Emily Pritchard, the junior sent it to the net’s right side.

Rams fans were ready and waiting to cheer a potential victory if the ball hit the back of the net. However, they could only sigh in disbelief at the sound of the ball ricocheting off the post, keeping the game tied 1-1, which became final just seconds later. But that’s the nature of soccer—it’s a game of inches.

“A game of inches is exactly what that was,” head coach Rich Hickson told NewCanaanite.com, with a smile. “I just told the girls that. An inch or two over and we win 2-1. But obviously that’s sometimes the way it goes and unfortunately we weren’t able to get the winner there. Coming in, Westhill was on a very good run. [Westhill head coach] Dave [Flower], I know him very well. We go all the way back to 2006 when I first came over to the states. So we knew they were going to be a very tough opponent. But we also know we have the players to compete with them. It was a great response after Tuesday’s game. I’m extremely proud of the girls for their effort today.”

The game’s first 11 minutes were rather tightly contested, neither team giving up much ground. Then in the 12th minute, senior co-captain Madison Starr sent a ball in Pritchard’s direction, which the Vikings keeper poked away, out of bounds. That sent Julia Ozimek over to take the corner kick, and once her Rams teammates were ready, she sent a rainbow of a pass into the middle of the traffic at the net. But while the junior was unable to connect with a teammate of hers, the ball took a friendly bounce off a Westhill defender and into the net to give the Rams an early 1-0 lead.

“I was just trying to put it in the right spot,” Ozimek said. “Their goalie fumbled it and it went in the back of the net. The entire team, myself included, was surprised and overcome with joy. It was a really cool moment for us.”

Poised with the lead, over the next several minutes, the Rams faced an offensive charge from the Vikings but were up to the task as the defense and junior goalkeeper Kendall Curtin didn’t let anything get by.

However, the Rams could only last so long—especially with the Northeastern commit Chelsea Domond on the field. In the 21st minute of play, after teammate Corrine Dente intercepted a New Canaan pass, Dente sent it up the field to the forward. Once with possession, Domond dribbled the ball by one Rams defender and deked another to give her a clear path between she and Curtin. Domond put the ball on net and though Curtin dove to try and save it, she came up empty, and the game was tied at one.

“She’s their top player,” Hickson said of Domond. “So, yes, she did get one. But, overall, we did manage to contain them [Westhill], so credit to our entire team performance. I don’t want to single anybody out. Everybody did well today.”

Westhill did have a couple opportunities before the end of the opening half to capture its first lead, but the New Canaan back line proved up to the challenge once again and kept the game knotted at one heading in to halftime.

The second half really was a collection of close calls—for both teams. In the 42nd minute, Domond pushed the ball toward the offensive zone and sent a pass across to teammate Lindsay Sanchez. Sanchez put the feed on net but Curtin would gobble it up. At the tail end of the 50th minute it was New Canaan’s turn to pose a threat to breaking the tie. Junior Katherine Reiss sent the ball in Pritchard’s direction, but just couldn’t get it past her.

One minute later, Rams senior co-captain Abigail Crowley had a free kick opportunity approximately 12 yards out from the goal line. And she put a good ball forward, having it just clip the crossbar and head over the net, out of play. Then in the 66th minute, it looked like Ozimek would get on the board again when, after a stellar pass from Kendall Patten, she charged up the right sideline with nobody other than Pritchard in sight. She sent the ball on net looking to capitalize on the breakaway, but it was to no avail as the Vikings keeper once again stonewalled a Rams scoring attempt.

Later, with 11 minutes to play, the Rams were back on the attack and Selvaggi had the ball in the box, poised to give the Rams back the lead. However, the left post would not be her friend as the ball bounced off that and back into play. Desperately trying to pull off the upset, with just over seven minutes remaining, Ozimek headed a pass up the field to Starr, and Starr was in the clear. Unfortunately, she was also called offsides.

The final minute came down to a quality scoring chance for each team, epitomizing the back and forth style of play from the game’s previous 79 minutes. Westhill began it with a shot into the keeper’s box. With Vikings forwards charging at the ball, hoping to capture a last-minute goal, Curtin put her body on the line and dove on top of it. Quickly, she sent the ball up the field, working its way to the Westhill keeper’s box. Eventually the Rams ended up with a corner kick with just 20 seconds left.

Ozimek hurried to send the ball to the front of the net. After the ball bounced off a few different people, Selvaggi was left with another shot at getting the game winner. But it just wasn’t meant to be as this time it bounced off the right post.

The Rams will take the point in the standings, though, as they now embark on the second half of their regular season schedule, which starts with a game next Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Norwalk.