Janet Candy did her best to be diplomatic but the classy Perryville field hockey coach couldn't completely hide her resentment. Patterson Mill scored 3:13 into the first 7-on-7 overtime period to nip the Panthers 1-0 in the region title game Wednesday afternoon in Perryville. Julianne Gabor scored the game-winner on a corner with Nina Urban (stopper) and Maggie Egan (inserter) each picking up an assist.
The goal came with Perryville playing down a player seconds after the Panthers were assessed their sixth yellow card of the game. In total, three Perryville players were issued a total of six cards (all by the same official) which resulted in Perryville playing shorthanded by at least one player for about half of the game and shorthanded by two players for a couple of short stretches. Patterson Mill did not receive a single yellow card. "I'd rather not comment about the referees," Candy said. "We worry about the things we can control, not the things that we can't, and we can't control referees. Did we think the cards were stacked against us? Absolutely." Pressed further, she acknowledged some dissatisfaction. "It was frustrating," said Candy. "We just try to play harder, not be as physical, trying not to get the cards. We've been working on that all year. But it was frustrating. I really wanted a different outcome." Perryville received four yellow cards in the first half. After getting another in the second stanza, Candy met with the officials during a timeout. "I said, "I thought pushing is pushing, punching is punching, and hitting is hitting, and it needs to be called both ways or the teams are going to become more and more aggressive, which was the end result," she said. The Panthers coach said she can't recall seeing one team penalized so often. "I played all the way through high school and in college and I've coached here for 10 years," said Candy. "I've never, ever had this happen or occur and we've never actually had any issues with it all year." Up a player so frequently, Patterson Mill had 13 corners. Perryville did not allow a goal on the first 12. "The defense played phenomenal," Candy said. "(Goalie) Lacie Flores was phenomenal. Katelyn Griffin. Ashley Meekins on the flies. They never got one corner off until the very end." The end came shortly after the Panthers were issued another yellow card and went down a player, which is magnified that much more when teams have just six field players. Finally, an obstacle Perryville could not overcome. "We've always been underdogs," Candy said. "We've always felt like an underdog. Am I not surprised that we had to fight even more like an underdog? No. I thought that was a blow. That was a hard blow. That's like being in the 12th round and taking one right to the face. That was a tough one." Gabor's goal sent the Huskies into the state semifinals and ended Perryville's season. "I'm really proud of the way they played, just fighting to the very end with every single odd stacked against them," said Candy. The Panthers were trying to win the third region title and first since 1986. "We knew we were coming in as the underdog," said Perryville senior midfielder Lydia Hill. "We knew we were going to have to fight. We knew either way it was going to be a big fight. I think we pushed all the way to the end. That's all we could've done." Comments are closed.
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