Rockets grind out 2-0 playoff win
SLIPPERY ROCK — With 30 minutes left, her free kick from 25 yards out skimmed off the crossbar.
With 17:35 to go, her shot caromed off the left post, deflecting across the goal crease without going in.
Kayla Daugherty was owed one.
Slippery Rock's senior captain finally cashed in with 12:20 remaining, dribbling the ball past a defender to the left of the net, then putting a shot into its right corner. The tally put away the Rockets' 2-0 District 10 girls soccer playoff win over Fairview Saturday afternoon.
“Kayla is always goal-hungry,” Slippery Rock coach Sarah Vermilya said. “She knows how to create chances.
“She doesn't get frustrated. She just keeps on going. She's got around 20 goals or so this season.”
Slippery Rock (15-2-1) will face Sharon — a 1-0 overtime winner over Corry — in the second round at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Greenville. The Rockets shut out Sharon twice during the regular season.
Fairview (8-11) was shut out for the second time this year by Slippery Rock. The Rockets scored a 1-0 win over the Tigers in the regular season.
“Fairview is a tough team to play against because their back wall is so strong,” Vermilya said. “They are fundamentally solid back there. They spread out and don't allow much penetration.”
Slippery Rock had 13 shots on net, but only three corner kicks Saturday. Fairview managed only three shots on goal and no corner kicks.
“We couldn't generate any offense because we couldn't win the middle,” Fairview coach Anthony Turini said. “We rarely got the ball at their end of the field, so we couldn't attack.”
The game was scoreless until 4:35 remained in the first half. Hannah Burtner's shot was blocked by the Fairview defense, the ball bouncing over to the Tigers' Abby McCall. As the junior defender tried clearing the ball out of harm's way, she inadvertently knocked it into her own net.
SR's Burtner got credit for the tally — her ninth of the year — on the Fairview “own” goal.
Fairview's lone shot on net in the second half was a prime scoring opportunity. Lily Sanders, the Tigers' leader with 23 goals this year, broke in free on Rockets goalkeeper Julia Hart.
Hart came out and tried to cut down the angle. She got within three yards of the surprised Sanders and was able to smother her shot.
“If we get that one, who knows how this game plays out?,” Turini said. “Their keeper made a big save there.”
The Rockets had other chances in the game. A Daugherty corner kick was chipped over the net by Amanda Lewis in the first half. Burtner barely missed heading the ball into the net with 14:20 left in the game.
Daugherty's goal finally enabled the team to relax a bit.
“I felt like we were controlling the play, but you always want that two-goal edge, especially late,” Daugherty said. “It felt good to finally get one.
“We're just going one game at a time at this point. That was a tough team to create chances against because of their back line. We had to work hard to get through.”
