Overtime thriller

Yellow Jackets score pair in 2OT to advance

By Karl Lyles - Karl Lyles

FORT MILL -- The Fort Mill girls moved on to the second round of the playoffs but needed two overtimes to beat Byrnes, 3-1. Becca Tooley headed in the go-ahead goal two minutes into the second 10-minute overtime on a beautiful crossing pass from Kaitlyn Marr.

Taylor Parker bent a corner kick into the net off Byrnes' goalkeeper Allison Patton's hand about four minutes later for an insurance goal.

The Lady Jackets will host North Augusta -- a 2-1 winner over Wren -- on Wednesday at Bob Jones Field.

The game was a rare first-round pairing of ranked teams. Fort Mill (17-2-3) came into the game ranked No. 4 in the state. Byrnes, ranked sixth, finished the year 15-7.

Byrnes came out of the rugged Region 2-AAAA. They dropped a 3-2 match to Mauldin last Monday. The loss broke a logjam of a tie for second place in the region. Byrnes finished fourth -- due to tie breakers -- behind Dorman, Mauldin and Spartanburg, respectively.

All four teams were ranked in the top five at some point this year.

"Byrnes plays in a powerful region. It didn't matter to us that we had to play them in the first round. We would have to play the best in the state somewhere in the playoffs anyway," Fort Mill coach Jim Finnerty said.

Fort Mill took a 1-0 lead at the 24-minute mark. Megan Killmeyer fed Parker, who crossed the ball to Sarah Bird. Bird beat Byrnes' Patton for the score.

Byrnes wasted little time in getting the equalizer at the 26-minute mark. Liz Kinney jumped on a rebounded header off the left post and deposited the ball off her right foot into the far corner.

Kinney, a senior, will play at Wingate next year, according to Byrnes coach Kingsley Emerson.

The match was physical but not to the extent Finnerty was expecting.

"I liked the way Byrnes played. They expect to dominate the 50/50 balls but they weren't as physical as I thought they would play," Finnerty said.

Fort Mill stomped on the gas pedal in the second overtime. The Jackets forced the ball upfield and outshot Byrnes 9-2 in the final 10 minutes.

Ashleigh Sheets, a senior, set the table for the go-ahead goal. She dribbled the ball into the Byrnes defenders to draw a double team. She dished to her right to a wide-open Kaitlyn Marr, who found Tooley near the right post.

"No one was marking me," Tooley said. "I waved my hands and called for the ball. Kaitlyn made a great pass."

Tooley's header struck the underside of the crossbar and dropped to the ground inside the goal. Officials quickly ruled it a goal and players nearly gang-tackled Tooley.

The sophomore forward wasn't sure how many goals she had scored this season but knew none of them was as important as her header.

All three Fort Mill goals came from sophomores.

"We are definitely a young team," Finnerty said. "It is great to get some playoff games under our belt and get some experience."