Nearly fifteen minutes after making the big stop, Sarah Edmondson’s hands were still shaky. After stopping the first four shots in penalty strokes, the Orange County goalkeeper needed one last save to give her team the win.
“There was a lot of adrenaline,” Edmondson said. “I was just looking hard at the shooter’s eyes to try and see where she was going to go. After that it was all about focusing on the ball.”
Edmondson made the stop, and with Kristen Baker having scored on the Hornets’ second shot, Orange was able to leave Prospect Heights with a win after overtime was unable to settle the 1-1 tie with Western Albemarle.
“I think this gives us some confidence,” said Orange coach Tricia Grabeel. “I know that Western is going to be our nemesis all season long and they have been in years past. You know how its friend or foe? Well we’re so used to playing each other that they’re friends. We always know that with them its going to be a competitive game and that each team is going to bring it.”
Baker was the only shooter to score in the penalty strokes. Second in the order, the junior’s mind was racing before her shot, but when the time came it was muscle memory.
“I was on the line ready to shoot and thinking about whether I wanted to go to the upper corner or bottom corner,” Baker said. “But when it comes to actually shooting there isn’t really a decision to be made. You just shoot and it happens.”
In regulation, the Hornets took a 1-0 lead in the first half when Grace Newman found the back of the cage. But after regrouping at halftime, the Warriors came out strong in the second half. In the final minute of regulation play, Western’s Moira Wright tied the match up with a quick shot to force overtime.
“This was our first game since August 28,” said Warriors coach Mia Fields. “We came out in the second half with a lot more intensity and just battled, battled, battled. It’s hard when a game goes to strokes because someone has to loose. But in the end it was just a hard fought game.”
After a scoreless overtime, the game went to penalty strokes. Both Western and Orange’s first shooters hit the post. And after Baker scored, it was all goaltending from there on out.
The Warriors managed to out shoot the Hornets 11-7.
Western (2-3) resumues plays with a road match against Collegiate on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Orange (4-1) hosts STAB today at 4:30 p.m.
