Ursuline's, Katie Lund put the Bears up 2-0 on a long range shot in the first half and off a header in the 2nd half. The Bears were relentless in the first 60 minutes of play until the Lady Vikings started to chip away at "something".
That "something" stemmed from the energy coming from the crowd. It is dead week and what a better way to take a study break then coming out to watch one of the greatest high school soccer rivalries in the country - Nolan vs Ursuline.
"We couldn't let this crowd down", commented head coach Jay Fitzgerald, "They kept us in the game and they never gave up."
The variety in the stands was impressive - friends, family, alumni, NORSEMEN, the Band, and even some of the boys soccer players showed up as they returned from the TCA win tonight.
After going down 2-0, the Lady Vikings scored 3 unanswered goals to win at home. Fitzgerald went on to say, "We found that extra dimension that was have been looking for all year." Junior, Emma Chandlee got the Lady Vikings on the board to cut the Ursuline lead in half off a corner from Sarah Brown and the just 5 minutes later Chandlee struck again off a perfectly centered cross from Gabbie Puente.
The game was even and the crowd was loud.
The Lady Bears turned up the pressure and the Lady Vikings responded getting to the end of regulation and a much needed break. That 5 minute break before Sudden Death overtime was what the Lady Vikings needed to get their heads back on straight and regroup.
Overtime again, just like game one between the two teams at UTD back in November which saw Ursuline coming back from 2-0 down and taking the game in overtime.
"Now it is our turn", Fitzgerald told his team before overtime, "We are at HOME, don't let this crowd down."
Just 2 minutes and 56 seconds into the first overtime period, the Lady Vikings won it.
Sophomore, Jordan Gamboa spun the center back, raced into the corner of the box and sent a well timed ball across to Brown who netted her 3rd goal of the year. With that win the Lady Vikings improve to 6-2-0.
The JV match before hand was just as dramatic as the Vikings went down 1-0. Well into the second half, it seemed like the Lady Vikings would never even the game and like that, a pair of Katherine Paul goals put Nolan ahead until the Lady Bears evened the match with about two to play and that is how it ended, 2-2. Game one in November ended the same way but neither team was able to get on the board and that game ended 0-0.
TEAM LVS varsity continues their 3 game home string as they host Bishop Dunne tomorrow night at 6pm at Doskocil Stadium.
