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Girls keep state cup hopes alive with win against Mercy

The sun sets over the field during the Varsity Soccer team's regional 1-0 win against Farmington Hills Mercy on Tuesday, June 5. With this win the girls are another step closer to a State Championship.

MIKEY SULLIVAN ’13 | Staff Writer

After forcing the game into penalty kicks, Dani Ventimiglia ’14 pushed the Lady Blue Devils Soccer team past Farmington Hills Mercy 1-0.

With the win, South’s record stands at 14-3-2 and advances to the Regional Final where they will play Troy High School Friday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Although the game had little scoring, the game was anything but uneventful. Maddie Ethridge ’12 played strong defense for the Blue Devils, making some key defensive plays on the ball deep in South’s zone and in front of the net

Claire Deboer ’13 also played terrific defense keeping the ball out of the defensive zone. With the help of Deboer and Ethridge, the Devils controlled the ball for most of the first half.

“Both of us defensively played really tight,” said Head Coach Gene Harkin. “We tried to do the best we could but they had a great back line.”

This effort continued into the beginning of the second half and there were few shots but again South’s back defensive line kept making big plays keeping them in the game.

Nearing the middle of the second, the offense started to pick it up and forward Chelsea Marsh ’13 helped by pushing the ball up the field and getting the ball in front of the net.

“One thing we talked about at halftime was getting the ball wider,” said Harkin. “The wide side of the field was open so we wanted to play the ball wider and try to swing it back.”

South seemed more conditioned then the Marlins and this would prove to be important later on when the game went into overtime. One of the key factors in this game was speed and quickness, which South seemed to have the advantage with players like Marsh.

The closest goal in regulation came after a questionable foul that wasn’t called on Marsh. After a free kick by Deboer, Ventimiglia got a foot on the ball and it ricocheted of the post and into the goalie’s arms. 

“I thought we had a goal for sure,” said Harkin. “To be honest I thought we carried a lot of that play but when we got it down there in the end we couldn’t get it done.”

Goalie Anastasia Diamond’s ’13 had an immense impact on the game. On countless opportunities, she came up big stopping all of the shots in regulation and overtime periods.

“She really came out and gave us her all when we really needed her,” said Lindsey Makos. “She is an amazing goalie and we couldn’t have done any of this without her.”

Diamond stopped three of the six shots she faced during the penalty kicks and South’s scorers were Elizabeth Clevenger ’13, Kathy Collins ’14, Deboer and Ventimiglia.

“My defense really helped me out and unfortunately it came down to PK’s(penalty kicks) but the good thing is we ended up pulling through,” Diamond said.

Harkin said that he believes Troy is a fine team and that the game should be a close one. Another key point of the game was Christy Flom ’13, who left with 15:30 left in the game with an apparent her right ankle. It is unsure about the details of the injury but it is likely she will not return for the rest of playoffs.

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