Stefanie Loh, Patriot-News, May 20, 2010 MILLERSVILLE — As the whistle blew to signal the beginning of the second overtime period Wednesday night at Comet Stadium, Mechanicsburg soccer coach Tony Lougee sent his squad back in against Penn Manor with freshman Natalie Zelenky leading three forwards, five defenders plugging up the backfield, and versatile midfielder Ali Matisse making everything click in between.
His instructions to the Wildcats: finish it.
Earlier that evening, Mechanicsburg had jumped out to a 1-0 lead over in the second half when Matisse made a brilliant run down the middle of the field and sent a cross in to Zelenky who popped it neatly into the goal from a spot by the right post.
But Penn Manor quickly equalized 10 minutes later with a goal from Emmy Hess. And since then, the Comets looked to be gaining rhythm on offense as they stubbornly monopolized the ball throughout most of the first overtime period.
To their credit, Mechanicsburg’s defense rose to the challenge. Kristen Fisher came to goalkeeper Nicki Keiser’s aid at least twice as she hung by the net and knocked several balls back into play.
But as senior defender Jodie Zelenky admitted later, even the defenders were getting a little antsy by the second overtime.
“I think the fact that we couldn’t score and we were getting shots and hitting crosses [offensively], it just makes you panic a little bit. It makes you feel, ‘What aren’t we doing right?’” Zelenky said.
Lougee beseeched his team to stay patient.
“I wanted to see us just get more patient on the ball,” he said. “Not rush forth but build it up and get some numbers.”
It was through patience and prescience that Natalie Zelenky, the defender’s younger sister, finally found room to run down the left flank with about 11 minutes left in the second overtime period.
Scanning the goal box, Zelenky found Holly Burgard creeping into the middle. She’d half expected the small, scrappy midfielder to come forth and meet her — “I saw Holly go in there. She’d been there all game,” Zelenky said. “I just took a chance.”
Burgard turned the pass into a shot and sent the ball in between the near post and the leaping goalkeeper to give the Wildcats a 2-1 win over No. 8 Penn Manor in double-overtime.
With the win, the ninth-seeded Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the District III Class AAA tournament and will take on No. 1 seed Hershey on Saturday.
