DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
KINGSLAND – Survive and advance.
Those two principles of postseason play certainly held true as the Bellmont Braves were taking yet another picture with the sectional trophy in front of the south goal at the Norwell soccer stadium Saturday.
Coach Steve Lee’s team survived a tense, scoreless first half, then overcame a second-half deficit to advance to the regional for the ninth straight season, beating Canterbury for a second time this season, winning this time with a late goal by Ella Sovine, 3-2.
“What a crazy game,” said coach Lee after the game. “It wasn’t our best performance, but we found a way to win!”
The Braves were the first team to finish a scoring chance when Anna Ruble provided the prettiest goal of the afternoon, lofting a shot to the far post from the edge of the box to put Bellmont up 1-0 in the 53rd minute.
With the way the first half had gone, it seemed like a 1-0 scoreline might be where the game was headed.
Everyone present (and listening on WZBD) didn’t know what was about to come.
Canterbury stormed back into the game, winning a pair of corners and scoring on both of them over the course of four minutes. Lauren Biggs smashed home two deflections from short distance to put the Cavaliers on top.
The Braves dominated much of the play thereafter, and Maggie Wilson, who had been nursing an ankle injury all game, finished a pass from Anna Ruble to tie the game for a third time (see gallery below).
It was Bellmont who was applying all the pressure in the final ten minutes, determined to not reach extra time and a ball won at midfield by Kaitlyn Barton turned into a left-footed pass down the touch line to Oni Krueckeberg, who took one touch and centered the ball at the penalty stripe. A third consecutive touch by a third different ninth grader was made by Ella Sovine, who became an unlikely hero in the Braves’ quest for another sectional title.
Bellmont saw out the final five and a half minutes and celebrated with family and friends at midfield, knowing that their season was not over and that they would return home for a regional game Wednesday.
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