Dunbar Girls’ Soccer Shocking District Championship Loss
The Bulldogs lost against Catholic on Oct. 11 in the district championship. After finishing regulation and double overtime with a score of 0-0, the Bulldogs, unfortunately, lost in penalty kicks by a score of 3-1; making it their first loss in 12 games.
Seniors and captains Meron Roach (MF/F) and Morgan Turcotte (GK) really showed out. Meron Roach was the center of Dunbar’s offense creating most of their opportunities but sadly couldn’t find the back of the net. Morgan Turcotte ultimately kept the Bulldogs in the game by stopping multiple shots destined to go in. She made 2 clutch saves with less than a minute left in regulation to keep the Bulldogs alive.
The Knights won by making 3 of their 4 penalty shots while Dunbar only made 1. The Knights superior aim and shooting abilities allowed them to win in such a fashion. They also had more chances than us proving how explosive they were which showed from the beginning of the game. This caused fatigue among the team especially Morgan Turcotte, having to stop so many shots.
This puts Dunbar at 14-3-1 on the season making them 2nd in the region and ending their 12 game win streak. Catholic is 4th in the region with a 14-5-2 record while receiving their 2nd win against Dunbar. With the end of the season nearing, both teams will compete in Regionals. Regionals are single elimination so a loss results at the end of that’s team season.
Senior and captain Audrey Rawls(MF) was repeatedly spreading the field with long passes originating from the middle field. She frequently made these long passes to forwards Meron Roach and Ashlyn Fuller. Also, senior Taryn Thomas (D) made a big save after ball rolled pass Morgan Turcotte to keep score at 0-0; the ball was a few inches from the goal line.
Catholic started off the PK’s by sending out #12 Maggie Corbett, she made her teams first shot. With Dunbar up next they sent out #14 Rachel green to which she missed, to follow Catholic’s #9 Tori Mclaughlin missed being blocked by a diving Turcotte save. Following after is Dunbar’s #8 Taylor Smith accumulating another miss. Finally Catholic’s #13 Alexis Burdine breaks the streak and scores the first goal in 3 shots. Both Dunbar’s #15 Meron Roach and Catholic’s #2 McKenna Hamm miss their next shots. Dunbar’s first goal comes from #11 Erin Heil but came too late as the next shot by #20 Sidney Schoff ended the game in a 3-1 PK loss and Dunbar’s hopes for the district championship.
The Bulldogs played an overall good game but could not pull it out in PK’s. The bad shooting is the main reason for the upsetting loss, but hopefully, this heartbreaking loss will motivate the Bulldogs to do great in regionals.
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#13 Taryn Thomas awaits a goal kick by #1 Morgan Turcotte.
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#13 Taryn Thomas throws the ball in bounds to try and create a scoring chance for her teammates.
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#20 Madison Smith jumps in the air to try and pass the ball to her teammates before the opposing team can get it.
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#10 Emery Morgan steps up to try and defend an oncoming attacker and steal the ball before the opposing team has a chance to score.
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#9 Ashlyn Fuller pushes an opposing defender away from the ball to try and get a shot off before the goalkeeper can grab the ball.
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#6 Gracie Logan attempts to swiftly move around a defender to have a chance at scoring a goal.
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#6 Gracie Logan grabs her head in frustration after a call from the referee resulting in her teammate getting a yellow card.
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#4 Audrey Rawls looks for a pass downfield to one of her open teammates
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#4 Audrey Rawls staying open for her teammates if they need someone to pass the ball too.
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#4 Audrey Rawls dribbles up field to try and assist in getting a goal for her team.
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#4 Audrey Rawls being physical and pushing an opposing player away from the ball so she can get to it first.
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#4 Audrey Rawls fights for the ball with an opposing player trying to shut down a scoring opportunity for the opposing team.
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#8 Taylor Smith leaps into the air to try and get the ball down before the opposing player can.
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#12 Carmen Combs and #14 Rachel Green race down the field to try and get to the ball before the opposing team can.
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#11 Erin Heil kicks the ball out of Dunbar’s side of the field to avoid opposing attackers from scoring.
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#8 Taylor Smith gets the ball under control to avoid the opposing team from taking it from her.
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My name is Winston Abedi, I'm a sophomore at Paul Laurence Dunbar and this is my first year participating in Lamplighter.
I'm looking forward to contributing...
