TOPEKA – With what might go down as the most spectacular single goal in Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer history, the Lady Dragons won their third Region VI championship on Sunday at Hummer Sports Park.
Freshman Melissa Hetherington’s athletic and skillful mid-air strike early in the second half climbed over the outstretched arms of Butler goalkeeper Melanie Nuessen and just under the crossbar for the only goal of the game as the Lady Dragons defeated Butler 1-0 in the regional final for the second-straight year.
“This team just wins,” HCC head coach Sammy Lane said. “They are committed to winning. Sometimes we win flashy and today we just had to win ugly. I couldn’t be happier for these girls.”
Fifth-ranked Hutchinson (17-2) will now play host to the NJCAA District B Tournament beginning Friday at the USD 308 Athletic Complex. Pairings and times will be released on Monday. HCC takes a 14-game winning streak into the district tournament.
Eighth-ranked Butler (17-3-1) will also be a part of the four-team field by virtue of the best regular-season regional record. The winners of Region IX and Region XVIII will make up the rest of the field. Hutchinson is slated to play the Region IX champion.
Playing in their fourth regional final in the program’s seven-year history, the Lady Dragons have now won Region VI crowns in 2007, 2010 and 2011. Hutchinson is 14-4 all-time in Region VI play.
“This feels great,” sophomore defender Logan Shupe said. “It’s a feeling like no other.”
After a scoreless first half with HCC playing with a gusty north wind, the Lady Dragons had to go against that wind in the second half.
Just about 3 minutes into the second half, HCC worked the ball upfield after a goal kick. Sophomore Miranda Holmes played a pass into the penalty box. Hetherington took the pass, which popped up on her initial touch. Instinctively, Hetherington jumped up and nearly completely horizontal struck the ball toward the goal. The shot nestled perfectly over Nuessen and the under the cross bar into the upper left-hand corner of the goal to give the Lady Dragons a 1-0 lead at the 48:18 mark of the game.
“It just happened so fast,” said Hetherington, who scored her nation-leading 35th goal of the season. “The ball flipped into the air, there was the (Butler player) and I just flew and kicked it. I didn’t think about it. I just wanted to get it away and it went in.”
“What a goal,” Lane said. “The goal she scored in the regular-season game was brilliant, but that was unbelievable. Just to have the ability to execute something like that was unbelievable.”
From that point, Butler put sustained pressure on HCC in search of an equalizing goal. Hutchinson was out-shot for the first time this season 21-10, but only put one shot on goal against HCC freshman goalkeeper Eunice Figueroa, who made several plays to stop Butler through passes with Grizzly players bearing down on her.
Along with aggressive play by Figueroa (12-1), defenders Logan Shupe, Bekah Ramstack, Lindsie Mainz, Jamie Smith and Polly New, along with aggressive defensive play by Holmes in the midfield, continually maintained their marks and never let the hard-charging Grizzlies get any clear shots on goal. Butler attempted 14 shots in the second half with seven being blocked by an HCC defender.
“Johnson took a lot out of us yesterday,” Lane said. “You could tell early in the second half our legs were starting to go a little bit. I made the decision once we scored that we were going to try and ride it out. The back five were tremendous today. We were under sustained pressure and Miranda was magnificent as well in front of them. They all played 90 minutes yesterday and 90 minutes today. They were all tired.”
“It was pretty scary and we knew we had to defend well,” Shupe said.
Butler’s best opportunities came in the second half when the Grizzlies missed two open nets with shots high or wide. Then with just a couple of minutes to play, a Butler cross into the box trickled past Figueroa and was rolling parallel to the goal line only two feet outside the goal. Smith got to the loose ball and calmly made a good clear to erase Butler’s last scoring opportunity of the game.
“I was just trying to focus on getting to the ball and getting the ball cleared past all the pressure,” Smith said. “I was glad there wasn’t anybody immediately on me, so I had a chance to clear the ball.
“The game felt like it was the longest ever, but we really handed the pressure well. We played really well in the back and well overall today.”
GAME NOTES – Hutchinson has won three 1-0 postseason games in team history, all three have been against Butler. … Hutchinson posted its ninth postseason victory and 80th all-time career shutout in 108 all-time wins. … The 17 victories in 2011 tie for the second-most wins in team history. … Hutchinson’s 14-game winning streak ties for the second-longest in team history. … Melissa Hetherington’s goal was her nation-leading 35th of the season. … Miranda Holmes’ assist on Hetherington’s goal was her second helper of the season. … HCC is now 8-3 all-time vs. Butler, including seven-straight victories.