Girls soccer beats Wootton 1–0 in nail-biter at regionals

By Cailey Thalman

The girls soccer team (12–2–1) beat the Wootton Patriots (12–2–1) 1–0 in an exciting fashion on Tuesday to win regionals. 

It was an extremely tight battle from kickoff. Each team came out hungry for the win and were looking for a chance to continue their road to states. The physicality in this game was one for the record books. It seemed as though someone was getting their shirt grabbed or being shoved to the ground in every corner of the field. The Vikes had the advantage in terms of scoring opportunities. They could outrun most of the Wootton defenders and put themselves in great positions in front of the net. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get one past the keeper in the first half. The scoreboard read 0–0 heading into halftime. 

The second half was much like the first. The Vikes continued to put pressure on the Wootton back line and keeper, getting a ton of shots off on goal. It was looking like this game was heading into overtime with five minutes left. That was until sophomore Riley Demartino got the ball in the left corner. She sent a beautiful cross back to awaiting sophomore Gemma Davitian who tapped it in with one minute to go. The fans who traveled to Wootton went wild as the Vikes ended the game with the 1–0 win. 

The Vikes will face Parkdale High School (7–5) in the state quarterfinals on Friday night at Walter Johnson High School.