Spartans girls outpoint Blazers

September 26, 2006|by JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent

CLEAR SPRING - The McConnellsburg-Clear Spring girls soccer match was a fight to the finish.

And even that had two meanings.

The Spartans held on for a 2-1 victory over the Blazers on Monday in what became a real-life battle.

The score also reflected the number of ejections each team had following a brawl late in the game, which caused a 15-minute delay.

"It was unfortunate," Clear Spring coach Jeff Semler said. "It was a physical game. The girls lost their heads and that is what happened."

With 10:31 remaining, an altercation between Clear Spring midfielder Sarah Dice and McCon-nellsburg midfielder Myrissa Peck. It was followed by another altercation between Dice and McConnellsburg forward Erin Chafardon.

After a referees' conference, all three players were given red cards. They were all ejected from the game and will not be allowed to play in the next one.

The delays continued to mount as the game was stopped for 30 minutes in the final minute when McConnellsburg midfielder Taylor Rohm injured her leg and was taken from the game by ambulance.

"It was a very demanding, physical soccer game," McConnellsburg coach Toby McGarvey said. "Our team fought back hard to win. I put my two quickest girls, Casey Pollock and Erin Chafardon, on top in the second half. That helped to speed up our offense."

Spartans goalkeeper Sam McQuade made 19 saves.

"We had a lot of chances in the last couple of minutes," Semler added. "McConnellsburg just made some nice stops. I'm very pleased with the way that we played."

The Blazers (2-3) took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute when Cassandra Burton scored an unassisted goal.

The Spartans (7-2) tied the score at 1-1 in the 54th minute on a penalty kick by Peck.

McConnellsburg went ahead 2-1 in the 58th minute when Pollock scored what proved to be the game-winner with an unassisted goal.

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