NK, Bruton deadlock at 1-1

A late second half goal enabled Bruton’s Panthers to overtake New Kent’s host Lady Trojans at 1-1. The teams then played to a standoff in two overtime periods to settle for a Bay Rivers District soccer tie.

Despite the outcome, New Kent remains on track for the school’s first ever post-season district tournament appearance. For now, the Lady Trojans are holding sixth place in the district standings at 2-4-1. They are 4-6-1 in all games.

“We took control and sat on a 1-0 lead and that’s hard to do in soccer,” Lady Trojan coach Chad Honeycutt said. “One is never enough.”

It appeared, though, that one goal could be sufficient. After a scoreless first period, forward Casey Spencer put the hosts on top five minutes into the second half, picking the ball out of a crowd in front of the Bruton goal and blasting a shot past keeper Rebecca Ellis.

But it was a contest in which both teams had ample scoring opportunities. Only poor shooting angles, keeper saves, and the occasional shot off a goal frame kept the point totals to a minimum.

The Panthers were poised to create a tie with just over 11 minutes left in the game following a pushing violation in the box whistled on Lady Trojan defender Sam Critz. Stephanie Piotrowski’s penalty kick, however, sailed over the goal, preserving New Kent’s 1-0 lead.

But with just over four minutes left, a hard tackle by New Kent’s Jordan Temple gave the Panthers a direct free kick just outside the box. Bruton’s Luciana Lugaspi hooked her shot over the Lady Trojan wall of defenders and into the corner of the goal, just beyond keeper Laura Smith’s reach.

New Kent got the best scoring chances in overtime. In the first five-minute period, Abby McIninch took a pass from Emily Schofield out of the New Kent end and drove past defenders. McIninch’s shot, however, hooked just wide of the Panther goal.

Then in the second overtime and with only seconds left, Anna Black launched a long-range shot but directly into the arms of Ellis.

Bruton managed a 23-17 edge in shots on goal. Smith garnered 10 saves while Ellis stopped eight shots.

“We were going as hard as we could, and that’s all I can ask of them,” Honeycutt said. “Emily did a real good job running our defense and Sam did a great job shutting down their best player [Lugaspi].

“On paper, Bruton is better than us, but you’ve got to step on the field,” he said. “What I saw was our girls playing across the field and for each other.”