Lady Trojans withstand Grafton comeback for 3-2 soccer victory

New Kent's Chloe Picone (8) engages in a race for the ball with Grafton's Mia Guajardo.

Alan Chamberlain photos

After dominating play in a scoreless first half of Tuesday’s soccer clash with Grafton’s Clippers, New Kent’s host Lady Trojans punched in a trio of unanswered second half goals. And they would need every one of them.

The Lady Trojans weathered a second half, one-hour thunderstorm delay along with a late Grafton comeback to capture a 3-2 victory, raising their season record to 5-4.

Lady Trojan coach Irene Bierie breathed a huge sigh of relief as time ran out in the second half.

“At least it turned out like we wanted it,” she said.

With her team leading 3-0 midway through the final period, she elected to insert several reserves in the lineup. And even though Grafton cast a Lady Trojan win in doubt over the final minutes, she stuck with the subs.

“They held their own,” she said, pointing to her reserves’ performance.

New Kent’s regulars, meanwhile, owned the first half, out-shooting the Clippers by a 14-5 margin. Problem was, none of those shots reached the net.

“At halftime, I was telling them to get the ball in the goal since we had all those opportunities,” Bierie said. “I told them to just put it in the net so we can have this win.”

The Lady Trojans took their coach’s message to heart. Three minutes after the break, Sydney Griffith shook off a defender with a nifty move for an open shot past Clipper keeper Cameron Roblewsky. But with 30 minutes remaining, however, lighting from a rapidly approaching thunderstorm halted play.

“I knew that 1-0 lead would not hold up,” said Bierie.

A one-hour delay failed to stem New Kent’s momentum. Five minutes after play resumed, Jhonae White centered the ball to Faith Tyler for an easy shot and a 2-0 lead. Just over a minute later, Griffith dribbled past defenders to launch another shot that eluded Roblewsky.

New Kent’s 3-0 advantage appeared insurmountable as the clock ticked under 10 minutes to go. But at the eight-minute mark, an Olivia Lilygren penalty kick ignited the Clipper rally. With three minutes left, Grafton’s Malia Valentine tipped in a teammate’s shot that caromed off the top of the goal.

An injury sustained on the second Clipper goal forced New Kent keeper Sara Buchanan to the sideline. The hosts’ defense, however, kept pressure off replacement goalie Talia Hohman and did not allow a Clipper shot over the final minutes.

New Kent launched 20 shots to 11 for the Clippers. Buchanan registered five saves while Roblewsky stopped seven shots.

“I’m glad we got the game in and came back after the storm,” said Bierie. “This was a win we really, really wanted.”

New Kent’s Jennifer Critz (19) engages in a bit of a shoving match with Grafton’s Olivia Lilygren for control of the ball.