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School Sports
Hunt survives OT test By Michael Lindsay | Daily Times Staff Writer In the playoffs, teams talk about surviving and moving on, and that's just what the Hunt girls soccer did. The Lady Warriors were forced into overtime Saturday against visiting Gray's Creek, but with Allyson Fulghum's go-ahead goal with 2:30 left in the first 10-minute overtime, they finally advanced into the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A state playoffs for the first time since 1999. "Both teams, I think, left everything on the field," Hunt head coach Drew Nick said. "Both teams played well in very physical game, and we're very fortunate it ended up in our favor. My girls just found a way to gut it out, and that was the thing going into the two extra 10 minutes." On a corner kick from the right corner, Katie Wilson curled the ball with the wind toward the goal, deflecting off Brittany Raper in the middle of the box. Fulghum, a sophomore forward, played the ball on the bounce in the left half of the box, heading it in her 12th goal of the season. "I was ecstatic," Fulghum said. "I just wanted to jump up and down and hug Brittany Raper." The Lady Warriors, the conference champions from the Eastern Carolina Conference, held on through the second 10-minute overtime for their 10th straight win, improving to 21-2. Gray's Creek, the No. 5 team from the Cape Fear Valley Conference, finished the year 15-8. "We knew they would be a tough opponent," Gray's Creek head coach Rick Kaiser said. "They've played some tough teams throughout the year, and they're a skilled team. They took advantage of the corner kicks -- two goals on corner kicks. "In our conference, we haven't seen girls that take the ball out of the air like that, and it was definitely an advantage for them." After two early chances were stopped, sophomore midfielder Lizzie Pittman headed in Wilson's corner kick in the eighth minute for a 1-0 lead. Wilson, kicking from the right corner, booted the ball into the box where Pittman leaped and cleanly headed it into the net. "It's just been clicking for us on corners," Nick said, "and (Wilson) just drove one, beautifully placed the way it should be -- down low and in the corner. You know, you work on it and hopefully it pays off in the game." Shortly after Pittman's goal, Alex Hall and Astin Barnes nearly broke it open for Hunt, but both barely missed on great chances as Gray's Creek stayed alive and eventually got a good look of its own. Inside the final two minutes of the half, Gray's Creek drew a direct kick just above the penalty box. But on the kick goalkeeper Monica Campbell made a diving save for one of her 13, two more than the Lady Bears' Chelsea Taylor. In the second half, both teams battled through the midfield, not finding many offensive opportunities with four shots apiece. But as the minutes wound down, Gray's Creek caught a break, as the Lady Warriors were whistled for a handball in the box. With five minutes left, Lady Bears senior defender Chassidy Eaton drilled the penalty kick into the left half of the net, tying it 1-1. "The girls didn't want the season to be over with," Kaiser said. "They were ready to play hard for it. ... It picked the girls up, and we felt like we could play with them." In overtime, both teams remained mired in the midfield. But, as had been the case throughout the game, the team with the wind at its back eventually came through, as Fulghum put the Lady Warriors up for good. Throughout the game, play was allowed to be very physical, with several stoppages for injuries to both teams. But emotions boiled over with under two minutes left in the first overtime period when Hunt's Raper, Gray's Creek's Eaton and a spectator were involved in an on-field scuffle. Both players were ejected, and after a 15-minute suspension in play, the teams retook the field. Because of the ejection, Hunt will be without one of its leading scorers, leaving the Lady Warriors to rotate a reserve player into the starting lineup when it hosts Mideastern Conference No. 2 Jacksonville in the third round either Tuesday or Wednesday. Still, Hunt remains resilient in surviving what's been thrown at it, especially Saturday against Gray's Creek, and the Lady Warriors aim to continue that in the next round, Fulghum said. "I think that was a real wakeup call for us," she said. "We'd played some minor teams and beat them pretty badly. "But knowing that we beat a team as good as they were shows us that we can pretty much play as well as we can and beat anyone we come up against. So, hopefully we will." mlindsay@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807
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