For the first 20 minutes or so of the second half Tuesday, everything was going the way of Heritage Academy girls soccer, but the Patriots had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
After scoring two goals in quick succession in the first half, Heritage took a 2-1 lead into halftime over Washington School.
However, the Generals, fending off Patriots scoring chance after scoring chance, found the back of the net on a free kick just outside the 18-yard box to tie the score at 2-2 going into the second half water break.
Heritage Academy wanted to end the regular season with a statement and send the Pats seniors home happy on senior night. In the final 90 seconds of the match, forward Caroline Peal took that into her own hands.
“I felt like we were all just trying to shoot because we knew we needed a goal,” Peal said. “I was just trying to make one in and take whatever shot I could.”
Peal was running through the middle as teammate Sophie Starks carried the ball down the left sideline, finding her fellow sophomore open at the top of the key.
As she said, she took whatever shot she had, and it was perfectly placed under the outstretched arms of the Generals keeper into the bottom right corner for the winning goal, putting an exclamation point on a 3-2 victory with a hat trick.
“It seems like it’s always Caroline scoring the goals, but it’s all of them that are putting in the work,” Heritage Academy head coach Jacob Hunt said. “She can’t do it without everyone else, but she’s that person that we look to to get those goals and she delivers over and over again.”
Like Washington School did just before the second-half water break, they did before the first-half water break as well to take a 1-0 lead despite constant pressure from the Patriots (9-5).
Not even 10 minutes or so later, Peal equalized, scoring after her shot on goal was redirected into the back of the net off a Washington School defender.
Quite literally 30 seconds or so later, Peal was once again open, connecting on a half-volley sent into the box, a screamer that went past the keeper and put the Pats up, 2-1.
That sequence of events showed just how dangerous the sophomore is with the ball and, moreover, how impressive Heritage was the entire match at applying pressure on the Generals backline.
“It really helps because I knew I had them for support,” Peal said. “I could cross it to them or they could cross it to me.”
Tuesday night’s win had extra importance as it was not only the regular season finale for Heritage, but senior night as well.
What a better way to send off the senior class than a last-minute game-winner heading into postseason play?
“It was great,” Hunt said. “Our seniors, they looked happy whenever they would get playing time. They looked to enjoy it and seeing the smiles on their faces after a win is that much better. It’s always a great feeling because wins make me happy, but whenever the players can be happy as well, it’s always a plus.”
Now, Heritage awaits its opponent for the playoffs, which begin Tuesday. The Patriots look like they will play either Bayou Academy or Pillow Academy.
Heritage was 0-2 against Pillow and 0-1 against Bayou during the regular season.
Other scores
Prep volleyball
Caledonia 3, Pontotoc 0
PONTOTOC — Caledonia retained its perfect record in district play with a straight-set victory over Pontotoc on Tuesday.
Set scores were 25-21, 25-21 and 25-19.
Despite a strong showing from Pontotoc, the Cavaliers (17-7) were able to hold the lead in all three sets and rattle off enough runs to comfortably win the match.
Caledonia’s next match is at home against Shannon at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Starkville 3, Kosciusko 0
STARKVILLE — Starkville volleyball now has a three-match winning streak after defeating Kosciusko in straight sets Tuesday night.
Set scores were 25-12, 25-6 and 25-20.
The Yellow Jackets (10-14) were able to hold the Whippets under 10 points in the second set and fended off a late charge from them in the third to retain the straight-set victory.
Starkville’s next match is a district match at home against Tupelo at 7 p.m. Thursday.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.