NEW PALESTINE — The deciding moment came down to the final 10 minutes of the game.
Olivia Lambdin dribbled up the field, approaching the heavily-defended goal of the Danville Warriors. The two teams had fought to a no-score stalemate for the entire game, but up ahead Lambdin had the angle for a shot, but there was one problem. She’d have to kick with her left foot.
Unsure of whether or not her aim would strike true, Lambdin said she decided in the moment to lash out and go for it. After watching the ball sail into the goal, she wasn’t sure which one of her teammates would hug her first, she said.
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The Dragons refused to permit Danville to match their score. The clock ran down to zero, signaling New Pal’s shutout victory. The girls rushed the field. They were advancing to the final round in the IHSAA Girls Soccer Regional.
“Now, bring on the Irish,” shouted a fan from the bleachers. The girls were set to face off against Cathedral a few hours later in the evening.
The Dragons possessed the fortitude to play against the 18th-ranked team in the state, but when playing against the best, champions must bring their best, head coach Gina Fannin said.
And win or lose, that’s all she could ask of her team.
The New Palestine Dragons at last fell to Cathedral (11-4-4) on Saturday, caught in the jaws of defeat by the Fighting Irish in their regional championship game. The girls didn’t take home a title and advance to semistate, but Fannin said her team came out with an almost superhuman display of endurance and heart.
Up against the best
Two of the Dragons’ team leaders were winded before the day’s first game even started. The New Palestine Girls Cross-Country team was hot off a victory at their own regional competition earlier that morning — their first title in program history. Grace Voelz and Victoria Crowder, two of the soccer team’s strongest players, placed 14th and 3rd respectively.
Two hours later, they’d swapped their cross-country uniforms for their soccer jerseys and laced up their cleats to fight Danville.
After seizing her first regional-game win against the Warriors, Fannin was thrilled by the close win. But the nerves only intensified, she said.
Could they make it through the next step?
Cathedral advanced on the Dragons’ defense at the start of the game, quickly taking control of the field. With 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Cathedral’s Zoie Obst was set up by a teammate’s wide-open cross, and New Palestine was unable to snag a defensive clear. Obst scored, putting the Irish on the board.
The Dragons made several attempts at a counter-attack, but the Irish repelled each drive with ferocious intensity. Lambdin eventually broke through and put the pressure on Cathedral’s defense. New Palestine caught a break as a penalty was called when Lambdin’s shot was deflected by a defender’s hand. She snapped the subsequent penalty kick into the net, and New Palestine was rewarded with a shot of hope and a point on the board.
The game was tied up 1-1.
But the Dragons wouldn’t make it any further.
Cathedral came back with another goal scored by Olivia Carrico shortly after the Dragons’ PK, putting them ahead 2-1 at halftime. And by the time the buzzer sounded to kick start the second half, the Dragons immediately were showing signs of fatigue.
Taxed by their earlier game against Danville, New Palestine was losing steam; goalkeeper Haley Weinrich was able to keep the relentless Irish offense at bay for a while, but eventually the walls gave out.
Cathedral’s Marcelle Blanchett sent in a free kick goal following a penalty in the middle of the second half, and the Dragons found themselves unable to close the gap.
The final score: Cathedral 3, New Palestine 1.
Everyone, especially her seniors, played that final game tough, Fannin said after the game, blinking away the tears threatening to stream down her cheeks. Anybody who can compete that much in a single day — with games just a few hours apart — deserves praise, she said.
“Soccer players run a lot, and it gets exhausting,” Fannin said. “It’s like running two cross-country meets in one day. And (Cathedral) played another game earlier too. It’s not easy to do, especially when you’re playing at this level. By the time you get to the end, it gets a little chippy because everybody gets a little tired.”
It makes it all the more amazing that her team made it as far as they did this season, Fannin said.
One last time
The Dragons jogged hand in hand down the field at the game’s end to approach the stands. The crowd roared for them.
Offering their final thanks to the crowd, New Palestine’s girls returned to their bench, still crying and hugging each other tight, sharing their final moments as a team. Nearly a third of the Dragons’ entire roster was made up of senior athletes, and most of them will likely never play together again; that’s hard to wrap your head around, many of them said.
“They played hard, and they were a tough, tough team,” Fannin said. “When you get to this point in a tournament, they’re all going to be tough. They came out, they gave it all they had. That’s all I asked for, and I’m very proud of them.”
“They played for each other, and that’s what I asked them to do,” Fannin said. “There’s no disappointment.”
The crowd lingered for a while, but the field was empty save for the huddled players linked arm and arm, reluctant to say goodbye to New Palestine’s soccer field.
“One last time,” Lambdin shouted out to the group as the players and coaches piled their hands in the middle of the circle.
“One, two, three, Dragons!”
