After facing down a slew of shots in the first half, Suwannee goalkeeper Felicity May still kept a clean sheet.
She survived another onslaught in the second half to achieve something no current Suwannee player has.
May’s stellar defensive work — along with goals from Hemy Olivares-Alonso and Briseida Angeles — led to the Bulldogs’ 2-1 win over Columbia on Friday at Tiger Stadium. May finished with 12 saves on the night.
“Both teams played very, very hard,” SHS coach Brooklyn Smith said. “Both teams were very aggressive. The difference on offense was the effort.
“This is the last time they will ever have a chance to win in Columbia County. I guess that’s the words they needed to hear.”
The Bulldogs (6-8-2) survived numerous offensive chances from Columbia in the first half. Laelle Thompson’s early volley from 25 yards out met an easy save from May before a free kick from Paula Ortiz was likewise corralled.
Thompson had a much better look at goal 10 minutes after her first for the Tigers (6-7-2), taking a deflection into the penalty box all alone against May and challenging her to the bottom right. But May kept her composure and got a leg onto Thompson’s shot.
May later made a leaping save against a Marlee Hunt rocket shot near the top of the crossbar, getting a hand to it and tipping it over.
“Shoutout to my goalie,” Smith said of May. “She is one of the best in the state, in my opinion. She goes hard every single time after every single ball.”
Hunt nearly had her redemption two minutes into the second half, but her shot just glanced off the near post. However, it was Suwannee’s high press that quickly became the story of the half.
Senior forward Alaira Handy broke free on a counterattack, only to have her shot snuffed out by CHS goalie Sadie Sparks. Sparks made another great save moments later, punching away a Banesa Garduno Tellez free kick that came within the 6-yard box.
The Bulldogs finally broke through on yet another press that resulted in a turnover deep in Columbia territory. Handy’s attempt at the goal was batted directly into the path of Olivares-Alonso, who banged home the opening goal with 26 minutes remaining.
Columbia responded quickly. After getting the ball near midfield on a counter of her own, Thompson dribbled halfway down the field and drilled in the tying goal two minutes after Olivares-Alonso’s.
But Suwannee’s high press was too much to overcome late. After earning a corner, Angeles found the ball in the resulting scrum near the net and eased the ball in with a knee to retake the lead for good.
CHS coach Chip Garner said he felt his team came in with the wrong mindset to compete against its rival.
“We did not play as a team,” Garner said. “We had a completely different mindset. I’m trying to wrap my head around what just happened.”
The Tigers don’t lose out on much in the grand scheme with the loss. Already likely out of contention for the final at-large bid in Region 1-5A, Columbia likely needs to run the gauntlet for a District 3-5A tournament championship.
Garner said before that happens, however, his team needs to figure out how to avoid the mistakes displayed Friday.
“I’m leaning on our leadership to kind of resolve some issues,” Garner said. “This is one of those things where we let things outside of the game affect the game. It’s a good opportunity for them to learn and build off that.”
Meanwhile, Suwannee currently sits in ninth place in Region 1-3A with a 0.754 rating. However, Keystone Heights, which leads District 4, would snag one of the last playoff spots despite its -2.071 rating. Trailing West Nassau (5.231) for the last at-large spot, Smith knows things have to break right for her team down the stretch, especially in the District 2-3A tournament.
“We’re going to leave it all on the field and give it our all,” Smith said.