GOSHEN – Losses are hard to bear, especially the Sullivan West Sectional 2-1 (penalty kicks) quarterfinal loss to the John S. Burke Catholic Lady Eagles that ended the Lady Westies impressive season. With their two prior encounters having ended in one-goal wins for Burke, it wasn’t a far reach to envision Sullivan West winning this crucial match. After all, it is often said that it is difficult to beat a team three times in a row when such parity of talent exists between the two competitors. 

And indeed, Sullivan West challenged Burke in every regard and took a 1-0 lead at 20:22 of the first period after Lucia Kennedy took a feed from Viola Shami and blasted into the lower left side of the net past Burke keeper Madeline Coley. Playing superb defense, the Lady Bulldogs kept much of the play in the Burke defensive third and warded off attempted Lady Eagles advances with quick turnarounds in the midfield. 

Sullivan West keeper Abby Parucki who was filling in for keeper Elanie Herbert who, along with three other players, were on an FFA trip. Parucki was perfect in the goal until Burke stunned Sullivan West with a goal by Kathryn Scully with only 1:30 remaining in regulation. Burke players and their coach had thought they had the tying goal two minutes before, but officials waved it off as Burke was offsides. Burke Coach Sara Ricard Fandl then implored her team to flood the offensive end, even asking her keeper to come forward to midfield to try to tie the game in the waning three minutes and send it into overtime. 

Scully, arguably Burke’s best player, was momentarily unmarked and fired a shot past Parucki into the net. As neither team could get the winning goal in regulation, two 15-minute OT periods ensued with a sudden death provision. The first team to score within either of those periods would be the victor, but defenses prevailed and the 1-1 tie would now have to be broken by penalty kicks. 

Five players from each team had their turn to try and get the ball by the opposing team’s keeper. No. 4-seeded Burke mastered four of those to No. 5-seeded Sullivan West’s two and emerged victorious. Burke registered 39 shots with 28 on goal. Sullivan West marshaled 28 shots with 13 on goal. Each keeper recorded 10 saves. Burke (9-5) headed to No. 1-seeded Tri-Valley for a semifinal clash. Those two teams split during the regular season. 

Sullivan West players were clearly dismayed by the shocking outcome. They knew they had played well against Burke and one always hates to have a soccer match come down to penalty kicks to decide the outcome. 

Coaches Megan Brockner and Samantha Cummings were extremely proud of their team’s efforts. Brockner praised the team’s efforts and improvement from its August start, while Cummings said that she treasured every minute of the campaign. Both coaches pointed to next year with great anticipation while thanking the seniors for their tireless commitment and leadership. Sullivan West completed its season at 8-5-3.