C-C Girls' Soccer Salvages Tie with Arlington

Concord-Carlisle High School's girls' varsity soccer team came back from a one-goal deficit to even the score in the final 30 seconds and salvage a 3-3 tie with Arlington High School at Doug White Memorial Field on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore Lucy Fell assisted sophomore Andrea O'Brien's tying goal against Arlington junior goalie Hannah Howe-Lubowich. 

"I had a good feeling," C-C coach Nancy Slocum said. "You want to get the results, you want to walk away with your points towards the tournament, you want to build confidence getting the result you want, but in the end, every game's an opportunity to get better and better and better. I knew we could do it. Today we produced.

"I think it was a great moment for all the girls to learn what is possible when everybody together increases intensity and just doesn't let up," Slocum continued. "I think that was a team that on a different day might have had a different result; we might have beaten (Arlington)."

With roughly 30 seconds to go until the end of the game, Fell passed to O'Brien who scored C-C's third goal, making the game 3-3.

Patriot's players and fans were ecstatic as the whistle blew and the game was over.

"I think they showed a lot of character playing all the way until the end and I had a good feeling something good was going to happen," Slocum expressed.

C-C was first on the scoreboard in the 28th minute when O'Brien fed sophomore Maila Kodas for the Patriots' first goal on Howe-Lubowich from the left side of the goalie box.

But at 24:24, Arlington junior Rebecca Robinson broke past a C-C defender and freshman goalkeeper Abbey Ojemann, who ran out past the goalie box, to score on an open net to tie game at 1-all.

"We knew (Robinson) was super fast," Slocum said. "I think Abbey made a good decision coming out and on a different day she would have stopped the play and today her timing was just a little off, and, instead of smothering the ball, Robinson got by her. "Robinson's a great player. She's fast. Hats off to Rebecca, she did a good job. But Abbey, she did everything right except for the final snuff and that's the kind of experience that will get you."

One of Ojemann's following plays at the 20-minute marker was a great save. Arlington's corner kick bounced off the top of the goal post, got to an Arlington player who kicked the ball and Ojemann jumped to save the potential goal.

C-C's freshman Hannah Deignan assisted the Patriots' second goal at 18:40 when she passed to Kodas, whose shot on the far left side of the net sailed above Howe-Lubowich's reach.

Arlington junior Colleen Kane tied the game once again with 20 seconds left in the first half.  A shot was taken, Ojemann pounced, and the ball came loose. Kane knocked in the rebound to make it 2-2 at the half.

"On the second goal, Abbey did a great job. She came out, she got the ball, but she couldn't get the handle on it; couldn't quite get up and get that ball," Slocum said. "So, she's doing a lot of the right stuff and again, that kind of experience, as long as she remains focused on what she wants to accomplish and doesn't get down on herself. That will take her into the direction that I know she can go."

The action in the second half began 12 minutes in with Arlington getting its third goal on C-C's other freshman goalkeeper, Angela DeBruzzi.

Arlington senior Alexandra Farris scored on a penalty kick.

"They're both excellent goalkeepers," Slocum said. "They come with a lot of different strengths, it's important that they both get experience and grow and you never know what happens down the stretch as far as injury and it's important that they continue to both gain experience and learn from those situations."

It was looking as though Arlington was going to take the win as the seconds were winding down. There were less than two minutes on the game clock when a Posie Holmes shot drifted just to the left of the left goal post. But C-C's energy kept them moving and eager for the tying goal.

"Today, I think the tie is a pretty good result for us," Slocum said.

C-C's next game is against Bedford High School on Tuesday.