SOUTH BERWICK — The first half was one that the Cheverus girls’ soccer team and sophomore goalkeeper Evelyn Rush wanted to forget.
In the end, Cheverus and Rush left host Marshwood dejected.
Rush stood her ground and slapped down a final penalty kick by Marshwood’s Lilly Goodwin to give Cheverus a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks and a 3-2 victory in a Class A South quarterfinal Wednesday night.
“That girl stared right into my eyes and I had the mindset that this was my goal and I was going to stop that shot,” said Rush.
Cheverus (12-4), the No. 5 seed, advances to a Friday semifinal at unbeaten No. 1 Scarborough.
No. 4 Marshwood (12-3) led 2-0 during regular, then 2-1 after three penalty kicks for each team, getting goals from Lucy Parker and Lilli Hammond.
Knowing her team couldn’t afford another miss, Sophia Monfa of Cheverus tied it in the fourth round.
After a Marshwood miss, Jillian Foley slipped a low shot into the left side of the net, just past diving keeper Samantha Arnold, who had guessed correctly.
“It looked like if I had hit it any slower, she would have gotten it, so I’m really pleased I hit it the way I hit it,” Foley said.
Rush then made the save that finished an impressive come-from-behind win for the Stags, who had beaten Marshwood 3-0 in the regular season but trailed 2-0 at halftime.
Marshwood broke on top just 6:55 into the game when Parker’s shot from distance headed toward the far post. Rush was in position with no attackers near, only to have the ball spin out of her hands and squirt diagonally behind her into the goal.
“I know Evelyn felt bad about the first goal. I really still don’t know how that spun back in,” said Cheverus Coach Craig Roberts.
Roberts said in the preseason, he wasn’t sure who would be the goalie. The 2021 starter graduated and her backup opted not to play. Rush stepped into the position, trained diligently with assistant coach Kathy Little and, “we’re not where we are today without Evelyn.”
Marshwood made it 2-0 with 14:04 left in the first half when Aoife Coomey glanced a shot off the inside of the left post. Rush slipped in what were treacherous conditions around the goal area.
Cheverus benefited from the unsure footing in the first minute of the second half. Arnold slipped while trying to corral a loose ball, and Caoilinn Durkin banged the ball into a vacated net.
Monfa tied the game on a rocket shot from distance with 28:30 left in the regulation.
Marshwood was unlucky the rest of the way. Rush dropped a through ball that she had fielded but not secured. Onrushing Lilli Hammond, a dangerous presence for Marshwood, alertly kicked the loose ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed.
In the first overtime, Hammond worked through traffic and banged a shot off the crossbar.
“I had a couple chances. Just a slippery field and nerves,” Hammond said. “They’ve beat us for the past two years and they always broke us down so heavily in the game, and we really put a lot of effort into this. I know we tried our best. We had a lot of fire.”
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