SOUTH PARIS — Brittney Doughty had very little time and not much room to operate, but she had just enough of both.
The freshman forward’s goal with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the Erskine to a 2-1 win over Oxford Hills in a girls’ KVAC soccer match Thursday.
After a failed direct kick opportunity by the Eagles (8-5-1) headed out toward midfield with less than 30 ticks left on the clock, the Eagles pushed the ball back toward the Viking goal. Sasha Bender (two assists) made a move in front to keep the play alive, and pushed the ball over to Doughty.
“I had a little room,” said Doughty who had to fight off one defender and an onrushing keeper in Samantha Rivers to score the game winner. “It kicked off Sasha and came right to me. I just kicked it in.”
“Fortunately we hustled back after the direct kick,” added Erskine coach Jon Hilton. “What a great freshman she’s been. If she gets the chance, she usually puts it in.”
Bender nearly scored the go-ahead goal moments earlier on a partial breakaway only to have Oxford Hills back Meredith Vieira chase her down and steal the ball away clean.
“That was a heck of a play,” said Viking coach Kyle Morey. “We did not want this team to get behind us and she made a great play.”
For the Vikings (5-6-3) it was their first loss since starting the season 0-5-1, but their streak put them in the playoffs.
“I’m proud of our kids,” he said. “We didn’t pack it in. Erskine’s a very good team. They may be the most improved team in the KVAC from the start of the season.”
The teams traded goals in the first half, with Oxford Hills hitting the scoreboard first. A nifty feed from Terry Bunce set up a Kari Pelletier tally from in close.
With 2:02 remaining in the first half, Erskine forward Erin Corey slashed her way to the middle from the right wing to collect a pass from Bender. After breaking free she slipped a shot past Rivers (14 saves).
The second half was a fast-paced up and down game with the two teams trading scoring opportunities like a pair of welterweight boxers.
Twice the Vikings had girls appear off to breakaways toward the Eagles goal only to have sweeper Abbie Seigfriedt recovery to thwart both chances without a shot being fired.
“She did a great job,” said Hilton. “She’s new to the position this year. You might get by her, but you’re not going to beat her.”
Whitney Linindoll and Jill Rich both had scoring chances foiled by Erskine keeper Ericka Malley (nine saves). The Vikings best scoring bid came with 14:37 left in the second half when Heather Hudanish fired a shot headed to the lower righthand corner of the net. As Malley stumbled to get over to stop the shot, she kept her balance just long enough to deflect it wide.
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