West Ashley authors improbable rally for AAAA girls' soccer
title
WEST ASHLEY 4, FORT MILL 3 (2OT)
BY PHILIP M. BOWMAN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
COLUMBIA--The fans wore T-shirts with the phrase "Doin' it the Hard Way
Tour '05" written in purple. It was homage to their team, a gutsy squad
that reached the girls' Class AAAA state soccer championship by winning
four playoff matches on the road, all by a one-goal margin.
Friday night, the West Ashley Wildcats outdid themselves by doing it
more than the hard way. They did the unthinkable in front of 1,000 fans
at Stone Stadium on the campus of the University of South Carolina.
Down 3-1 against Fort Mill with a little more than 30 minutes left in
the match, the Wildcats rallied to force overtime and then won 4-3 in
the second overtime on a golden goal by Danielle Jordan, who scored
from in front of the box in the 102nd minute. It was her second goal of
the dramatic match and gave West Ashley its third state title in four
years.
"To play 100 minutes against Summerville, 110 minutes against Wando and
then to go to the golden goal says a lot about our team," West Ashley
coach Drew McNeely said of his playoff triumphs. "We just needed to
prevail. I think Fort Mill lost their legs and we sort of took over."
West Ashley upped its record to 22-4, while Fort Mill ended at 26-2.
Friday's victory pushed the Lowcountry's winning streak in the title
game to four. The Wildcats won in '02 and '03, while Wando claimed the
top prize last May.
Jordan, who was the top player in the state her freshman year, capped a
brilliant career with the game-winner. But her little sis, Candace, set
the table by tying the game with 1:44 left in regulation.
"What can I say? I think Danielle is one of the most incredible players
in the Southeast and the College of Charleston is getting a great one,"
McNeely said.
Jordan said she and the rest of the Wildcats never lost faith even
though they losing by two goals.
"I knew if we kept working hard and played hard we could do it," she
said.
"I knew if we ever gave up hope it was over. But we never gave up. We
wanted it in the worst way," she said.
Fort Mill junior Jennifer Ficklen was impressive even in defeat as she
scored a hat trick. Her first score was on a penalty kick just one
minute and 58 seconds into the match when West Ashley was called for a
foul inside the box.
But Gatorade state player of the year Julie Bolt fired a shot from 25
yards that keeper Elizabeth Ostrander managed to get her hands on, but
could not stop from going into the net, and the Wildcats had a 1-1 tie
at the 3:00 mark.
Fort Mill, which outshot West Ashley 7-6 in the first half, had a
chance to gain the lead at the 28:52, but Brothers deflected Ficklen's
shot over the crossbar.
But Ficklen and the Yellow Jackets dominated early in the second half.
Ficklen scored at the 43:26 mark to make it 2-1, and completed her hat
trick by scoring from 60 yards on a free kick, as Brothers misjudged
her shot.
The Wildcats cut the lead to one when Danielle Jordan scored from 10
yards at the 51:06 mark.
Jordan's sister, Candace, was next on the hero's list, as the freshman
scored on a shot from the top of the box with just one minute and 44
seconds left in regulation to tie the score 3-3.
West Ashley had chances to win the first overtime when Danielle Jordan
fired a shot from 6 yards, but Ostrander was able to make the play.
"I had a couple of chances on crossovers, but just couldn't nail it,"
Danielle Jordan said. "I knew I could do it. I knew my time was coming."
Return...to CCSD District #10