Eagles find 'O' in OT

By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HUBBARD -- The Hubbard High girls soccer team waited until overtime to ignite its offense. Then, the Eagles didn't hold back.
Cardinal Mooney, holding a one-goal advantage, was five minutes from upsetting the top-seeded team in a Division II district semifinal Wednesday.
But sophomore Jamie Duvall tied the score to force overtime and the Eagles advanced with a 4-1 victory at Hubbard's soggy field.
Getting the job done: "We take a while to get motivated," said Hubbard senior Jamie Rigney, who scored the Eagles' go-ahead goal in overtime. "But I knew we had it in us."
Hubbard (15-2-1) will play host to Champion for the district title Saturday at 7 p.m.
The unseeded Golden Flashes defeated Warren Kennedy in a shootout.
"We condition well," Hubbard coach Dennis Smith said. "For situations like this, we're hopefully in better shape than the other team."
Vinopal connects: Mooney (13-3-2) didn't waste any time in gaining the lead. Junior Katie Vinopal scored from in front four minutes into the game.
Although the Cardinals held that lead for the next 71 minutes, Hubbard appeared in command, just waiting to capitalize on its opportunities.
"We were controlling the ball, but we weren't shooting it," Smith said.
The Eagles continued to pressure Mooney's defense and junior goalkeeper Adrianne Detesco, who recorded a number of big saves to preserve the lead.
Hubbard out-shot Mooney 9-2 by halftime, 18-4 at the end of regulation and 26-7 for the game.
"We came into the game all hurt, especially the front line," Mooney coach Dennis Carney said. "We just weren't deep, although we did a heck of a job for [75] minutes."
Game-saving goal: Duvall's goal with five minutes remaining in regulation provided the lift that carried Hubbard to victory.
"The girls were getting hurt toward the end with cramp injuries," Carney said. "The game was just [five] minutes too long."
Rigney, senior Angela Bata and freshman Christina Adams followed with goals for Hubbard.
Rigney's goal, on a shot from about 25 yards that went over Detesco's head, put the Eagles ahead to stay two minutes into the 20-minute overtime.
"We never gave up," Rigney said. "We always had a positive attitude that we were going to score."
richesson@vindy.com