A spot in the state championship and the chance to meet arch rival McIntosh were on the line as the Panthers took on the Columbus Blue Devils in the semifinals of the state playoffs last Wednesday night. However, the Panthers would not return to the state title game for the third straight year as the Blue Devils won in penalty kicks.

“Anytime you get to pk’s, it’s hard on the players, tough way to go out,” girls’ head soccer coach John Bowen said. “Plus, this was like our fourth or fifth game to go to pk’s so the keeper knew where we were going and had a pretty good jump on the ball.”

The first half started out slow for the Panthers, as Columbus dominated control of the field. The Panthers attempted only two shots on goal during the first half of play, and allowed an early 13th minute goal to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.

“We weren’t trying, we weren’t even playing,” Bowen said. “That is the second straight game that we didn’t show up for the first half. Columbus is a good side, but there is no way that first half should’ve been as lopsided as it was.”

With only recording two shots on net, and several missed calls by the referees, the Panthers were fortunate that the defense showed up and kept the game level at 1-0. What seemed like a penalty in the first half to give the Panthers a shot to tie the game turned into a no call, ending the first half with a 1-0 Blue Devils lead.

The second half was a completely different story. The Panthers seemed to have reversed roles with Columbus from the first half as they now controlled the possession, getting more opportunities at the goal. Six minutes into the half, senior forward Riley Clark put a header past the Columbus goalkeeper to tie the game 1-1.

Starr’s Mill continued to put the pressure on their opponents, and another opportunity arose in the 66th minute. Seniors Leslie Logan and Lauren Yoss took a two-on-one advantage and capitalized as they took the lead on a goal by Logan. After an ugly first half, the Panthers now had a lead and a good grip on the game. Their chances at a state championship match with the Chiefs looked to be certain.

“Second half was way better than the first half,” Bowen said. “We were more aggressive, more determined, [and] just wanted it more.”

With six minutes left on the clock, the Panthers found themselves clinging to a 2-1 lead and still controlling the possession. However, a bad bounce fell right into the pocket of a Columbus player, leading to a breakaway and a tying goal. Columbus tied the game with 6:38 left in the game.

“We talked about it all game, don’t let the ball bounce in the middle and what did we do, let the ball bounce in the middle,” Bowen said. “You hope your keeper comes up with a big stop once she was in the clear.”

For the second straight game, the Panthers tried to win in the two, five minute overtime periods. Right out of the gate, it seemed as if the Panthers were to get a penalty as Clark was tripped up in the penalty box. However, another no call left the Panther fans, coaches, and players all in confusion as to why they weren’t lining up a penalty attempt. The overtime period ended the same as it began, a 2-2 tie headed to penalty kicks.

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In pk’s, senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Walloch stopped the first ball, giving the Panthers the advantage as senior Laurel Parker netted the first penalty attempt. However, Columbus rattled off the next three goals and stopped all three Panther attempts to win, despite an early celebration from the Columbus side after the second stopped penalty. The win advanced Columbus to the state championship game, and ended the Panthers’ chances at a repeat of the title.

“I thought Ashlyn read all of her pk’s well,” Bowen said. “Sometimes you just hit a good pk and the keeper is not going to stop it and that’s what happened.”

Even with the Panthers coming up just short of its goal to repeat as state champions, there is a lot to be proud of this past season. The Panthers own three of the 11 spots on the region 4-AAAAA all region team, including honors with player and coach of the year by Clark and Bowen respectively. The team will graduate seven seniors, four of which have signed college letter of intents to play at various schools. The team made the playoffs all four years of the seniors’ careers, and never got knocked out before the final four, while making two state championship appearances and winning one state title.

“These girls were absolutely fantastic,” Bowen said, commenting on the seniors’ last game. “To put it in perspective, the year before they got here, we had the only losing record in the region, barely made the playoffs, and lost in the first round. They showed up and we haven’t missed the final four in any of the four years they have been here. They have really meant a lot to this program and I hope the best for them as they continue on to college soccer.”