Seton Prevails After Penalties in Strange Overtime Victory

In a bizarre game where the recent switch from daylight savings time played a major factor, Elizabeth Seton High School's girls soccer team prevailed in a dramatic win over St. John's on their home field Wednesday afternoon.

Senior Katie Umstead said that the pregame was typical despite the unique circumstances, "We were in the team room stretching, dancing together, having a good time. So it's what we did for pretty much any other game."

The game began on Tuesday afternoon, and with regulation coming to a close, and both teams scoreless, they went into overtime.

After the first ten minute overtime, the officials decided that it was too dark to continue, and Seton's field isn't equipped with lights, so the remainder of the game had to be pushed to the next day; something that is almost unheard of in the sport.

"Never in my life, not coaching, not playing, I mean never in my life. The kids were so excited all day, the fans were awesome, and it's such an advantage to play at home," said Seton Coach Mellanie Nai.

The second overtime went quickly, with few legitimate scoring chances for either team, and mostly a battle for possession in the midfield with the occasional routine stop by goaltenders on both ends of the pitch.

Nai continued, "The game yesterday was unbelievable, an awesome game between two really good teams, the last ten minutes we had to play were a battle, but I kind of had a feeling we were going to go to PKs,."

The penalty kicks got underway with almost every girl making it past the goalie, both teams ended up having to go eight kickers deep before a St. John's penalty went wide of the net, securing Seton's spot in the next round of the playoffs.

As soon as the last kick was taken, the crowd erupted in celebration and rushed onto the field to join the girls in celebrating, as St. John's showed exceptional sportsmanship and composure despite their season ending.

Senior Danielle Frontin of Bowie said, ""It's definitely been a long game, two days long, and we've all been working really hard. We have ten seniors on the team and we're all really close, so it just feels good."

Some of the girls from Bowie have been playing together for over a decade, and the win was especially meaningful for them.

"It's unbelievable. This is the first time Seton has ever won a playoff game in the WCAC so it's huge. I mean, just look around, people are crying and screaming, nobody can control themselves it's crazy," said Rebekah Hayes after the game.

"Now I have to go home and do homework, but I don't know how I'm gonna do that cause I'm on fire! Good Counsel better watch out. Accomplishing something this great with all these people we've been striving to do this with since we were five years old. So it's huge, very exciting," she said.

Another senior from Bowie, Cara Hamel, played through the game and scored on her penalty kick with knee problems, but played through the pain saying, "It's kind of tough because I've been kind of shaky the past few weeks after playing St. John's at their field when I tweaked my knee. So it's hard because I want to go 100 percent, but I'm hesitant, but I'll be fine to finish out the season.

"I'm completely ecstatic. Every year since freshman year we've made it to the playoffs, but have never been able to make it past the first round. This is just so exciting, we've worked so hard this season, and it's been an amazing season. "

The girls play their next playoff game against the number one seeded Good Counsel today at 4:00 at Good Counsel High in Olney, MD. Check back later tonight for the results.