TCP; Cougars emerge from mist to win

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 6
Arts & Culture

A quiet haze fell over Oregon CitySaturday evening as the chill of fall enveloped OCHS Pioneer Stadium. Thrust in to an alternate dimension, the playing field morphed in to a Brigadoon time warp. A giant dolphin emerged out of the mist chanting and yelling, along with him were a pod of underlings entranced by his presence.

The NWAACC women’s soccer quarterfinal game against Shoreline was a surreal event for the Cougars, ending with a spectacular 1-0 finish in the 5th minute of sudden death overtime.

“Oh my gosh, it’s such a relief,” said sophomore forward Courtney Johnson on winning in dramatic fashion. “We’ve been working hard all season and it means the hard work pays off.”

The cold weather was an added inclement.

“We knew we needed to stay warm, so constantly during warm-ups we tried to stay warm and stretch,” said Johnson. “It’s definitely a change, but I think we adjusted well.”

The Cougars began with excellent short passes and teamwork to control the ball. Then, the Dolphins picked up momentum towards the end of first half. Clackamas showed a lot of fancy footwork despite the debilitating cold. Often times the Cougars flicked the ball effortlessly, passing it behind or to their side with surprising whip kicks.

Clackamas fired off some nice attempts at the goal during the last few minutes of first half and no score had been made by either team at half time.

The Cougars were amped up with an aggressive start to the second half creating good shots at the goal early. However, the rigid cold reflected the stalemate of the battle. The end of regulation time showed no score from either team resulting in a ten minute overtime of sudden death.

“That was one of the most hard fought good efforts I’ve seen,” added head coach Janine Szpara.

Suddenly the perfect opportunity to score opened up, as Kelsie Knight passed a laser assist to Tayler Ficek, who scored! Goal!

“I was in the right place at the right time,” said Ficek of the game winner.

The home crowd erupted with cheers for the Cougars’ victory.

“They played hard all year,” said fan Dan Scharbach. “Tonight they played aggressive and when they play aggressive they win.”

The Cougars talked a lot about how much work they have put in to get to this point. Now, they are only two wins away from the ultimate goal.

“We worked really hard every day,” said Ficek. “NWAACC Champions was the goal from day one.” The Cougars advance to face Spokane in the Final Four on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash.