King’s OT goal lifts Upper Dublin over Plymouth Whitemarsh in District 1 opener
UPPER DUBLIN >> It’s tough to beat a team three times.
The Upper Dublin girls soccer team only lost one game all year and out-scored Plymouth Whitemarsh by a total of seven goals in two wins.
But in the first round of the District 1 Class-4A playoffs, the Cardinals led for a total of zero seconds.
No. 10 seeded Upper Dublin tied the game at one in the 77th minute and won the game with a golden goal with two seconds remaining in overtime to beat No. 23 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 2-1, at Cardinal Stadium at Upper Dublin High School Tuesday evening.
“It was honestly such an amazing feeling,” Upper Dublin junior Katie King, who scored the game-winner, said. “Just to win the game in that moment and that second.
“Basically Emily (Booth) and I had a couple back-to-back passes,” King, who didn’t realize how close the period was to being over, said, describing the goal. “Then she hit the goalie and I just passed it in.”
The Suburban One League American Conference champion Cardinals tied the game in the 77th minute on a goal from Tina Haig. The junior ripped a left-footed shot from 20 yards away to give the Cardinals energy.
Plymouth Whitemarsh took its 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Ava Schreiber took a free kick from midfield and Haley Zygmunt found the ball in the box and put it in the back of the net.
Upper Dublin’s group of seniors has consistently made district playoffs, but this was their first win.
“That was something we definitely had on our to-do list this year,” Cardinals coach John Topper said, “to advance in the playoffs and hopefully we can keep that going.”
Upper Dublin will face No. 7 Souderton in the second round Thursday at Souderton at 7 p.m.
The loss brings an end to Plymouth Whitemarsh’s season.
“They didn’t deserve to lose that game,” Colonials coach Ryan Zehren said. “They played amazing. They worked hard start to finish. They did everything that we talked about over the last four or five days. Really proud of the way they played. For our seniors to go out that way — it’s tough to lose a game — but they deserved more than that result.
“We lost 5-0 the first time we played this team and we lost 2-1 in overtime the third time we played them. It’s a testament to the player’s hard work.
“Our goal was to make it to the playoffs. Our second goal was to win a playoff game — did we get that done? We were close. Not disappointed at all (in the season). It hurts, but not disappointed at all.”
Upper Dublin 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 0 — 1
Upper Dublin 0 1 1 — 2
Goals: PW: Haley Zygmunt. UD: Tina Haig, Katie King.
Assists: PW: Ava Schreiber. UD: Emily Booth.
Saves: PW: Devon Skiles 3. UD: Devon Jones 8.
