The Pillow Academy girls soccer squad’s championship battle was like the tale of two halves on Monday afternoon.
And in the second half, as Charles Dickens would write, it was the worst of times.
The Lady Mustangs were totally outplayed and outmanned in the second half of a 4-1 championship game loss to Hartfield Academy, which won its second straight MAIS Division II state championship. The Lady Hawks also avenged a heartbreaking overtime penalty kick shootout loss to Pillow two years ago.
For the Lady Mustangs (9-3-2), four seniors ended their six-year varsity careers with five championship game appearances and one state title. The decorated run of Madeline Kelly, Caroline Brock, Mia Cole and Julia Love Lyon did not conclude the way head coach Mary Clare Brock envisioned it.
“Our four seniors will truly be missed,” Brock said. “Our younger girls have some incredibly large shoes to fill.”
The electric matchup between the two best teams of 4A soccer over the last three years was back and forth in the first half. Brock surprised Hartfield coach Jake Benton by moving forward stalwart Caroline Brock back to the middle of the field to combat Hartfield strong middle line. Coach Brock also moved midfielder Georgia Caroline Self from midfield to the forward position, with her back to the goal to make her more of a distributor than a shooter. And five-year starter Madeline Kelly moved behind the defensive line in a rover position, causing Hartfield's high powered offense to struggle.
For the first half, all that worked. Hartfield repeatedly tried to force the ball down the middle offensively, but Kelly was there to clean up any strong pushes. Brock and fellow Pillow midfielders Madison Jefcoat, Elise Howard and Lillian Harvey battled Hartfield to a draw in the middle, as possession was even for the first half.
Midway through the first half, the Lady Mustangs struck first. Brock led a streaking Addison Weems down the left side, who passed the ball to Sarah Presley Howard. The speedy Howard beat the goalie with a pass to Self, who scored an empty-net goal to give Pillow a 1-0 lead.
Benton changed Hartfield's attack in the second half, moving key players Carson Turner to left attacking mid and Anne Maris Regan to right attacking mid. The move paid dividends, as Turner scored in the first minute of the second half to tie the game. The Hartfield attack continued, and Pillow keeper Avery Howard made a breakaway save on Hartfield to keep the game knotted at the 33-minute mark. However, center forward Kaitlyn Elliot scored 13 minutes into the second half to give Hartfield a 2-1 lead.
Pillow's chances for victory took a big hit when Howard, the team's leading goal scorer for the past two seasons, picked up her second yellow card with 22 minutes left and was removed from the game. Not only did the Lady Mustangs lose their biggest offensive threat, but they had to play with one less player than Hartfield the rest of the contest.
“It hurt us today with Sarah Presley sitting out so much in the second half with a red card,” coach Brock said. “We played nine to 10 in the field for the rest of the contest.”
Reagan added a Hartfield goal with 17 minutes left in the game, and Hartfield's Elliot scored her second of the contest with three minutes left. Wave after wave attack by Hartfield dominated the second half, as the Lady Hawks outshot Pillow 9-0 in the half and 12-3 for the contest.
“We didn't have our best game by any means, but this game didn't define my girls and the success they had the rest of the season,” coach Brock said.
