Trojans outlast Cavaliers in OT
May 8—HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian was determined to get the job done and move on.
The top-seeded Trojans, after losing the lead they held much of the match, bounced back well in overtime — getting the go-ahead goal by Kayla Burroughs in the opening minute — to beat Durham Academy 2-1 on Friday at Wesleyan's Sanford Field in the second round of the NCISAA 4A girls soccer playoffs.
"When you're winning, it's that — you're winning, but you haven't won; when you're losing, you haven't lost yet either. So, it's never over," Wesleyan coach Sarah Denton said. "We always address the fact that, if a ball goes in, then how how do we respond?"
In overtime, Burroughs, a senior forward, quickly dribbled up the left side and through the defense, turned the corner on her defender near the endline and sent a sliding shot past the goalkeeper to give the Trojans back the lead just 56 seconds into the first 10-minute overtime period.
"It all happened pretty fast," said Burroughs with a laugh. "But as soon as I scored, I was like, 'Dang, I wish it was golden goal because the game would be over.' It really was just a flashback to what happened in the first half. I got a chance from the left side, and I was right in front as the keeper was coming out. I shot it to the back post, and it hit the post and went out.
"That exact situation happened again in overtime. I knew what to do then, and I made sure not to hit the post. That's what was kind of going through my head, like, 'You have to make this.' It was great — just turning back to the team and hugging them, saying, 'We've got this. Keep pushing.' We always say after we score and we're ahead: It's still tied or we're losing — we have to keep going."
From there, Wesleyan (12-1) hung on. The Cavaliers (6-7) very nearly answered two minutes later on a chance along the left post, but goalkeeper Kloe Totel made a tremendous save. DA then had another good look inside the final minute of the first overtime period but missed wide.
Neither team had many opportunities in the second overtime period, as the Trojans' defense worked to fend off the Cavaliers' early pressure. Then Wesleyan worked the clock well in the final minutes to seal its first trip to the semifinals since 2015.
Caroline Heywood gave the Trojans the lead in the 19th minute, scoring off a ball sent in front by Burroughs that bobbled around among a crowd in front. And Wesleyan held the lead until DA scored off a header from a corner kick in from the left flag in the 57th minute.
The Trojans couldn't quite get the go-ahead score late in regulation, but they quickly answered in overtime.
Totel finished with five saves in goal for Wesleyan, which outshot the Cavaliers 14-12 for the match. The Trojans will host one of the remaining teams from the West, as the brackets flip-flop for Tuesday's semifinals, depending on the results from the other quarterfinal games.
