BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN – Heading into the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association 7A playoffs, both the Auburn High School girls and boys soccer teams wanted to start off strong in their pursuit of another title.
While Dothan High School put forth fierce resistance, they did just that, with the Lady Tigers defeating the Lady Wolves 2-0 and the Tigers taking down the Wolves 1-0 on April 29 at Duck Samford Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Lady Tigers strengthened their record to 18-3-1 while the Lady Wolves stumbled to 11-7-2. After securing the victory, the Tigers are now 14-8-1 record while the Wolves end their season at 11-8-2.
With the late spring heat in full effect, the girls’ match began somewhat sluggishly as DHS received the ball first and forced AHS into several crucial saves between the 34th and 28th minute marks.
Then, Camilla Bosman broke the deadlock with 19:43 remaining before halftime after a perfectly weighted through ball from Lulabell Hammer beat the back line. That pass allowed Bosman to skirt around the Lady Wolves’ goalkeeper and finish into an open net from roughly 10 yards out.
After getting on the scoreboard, the Lady Tigers grew into the game, found the better chances and slightly wrestled control of the game away from DHS as the halftime buzzer sounded.
As the second half began with AHS up 1-0, a slow start would not plague the Lady Tigers for a second straight half as Bosman nearly recorded a brace three minutes into the second half off of a deflected ball.
AHS then found its sought-after second goal with 21:57 left in the match after Claire Nappier put a cross into the box at a very tight angle and onto the DHS goalkeeper’s palms. The deflected ball seemingly floated right into the box and directly onto Allison Cobb’s forehead for an easy point blank header to secure the 2-0 victory.
The boys’ game subsequently began in similar fashion, with the Wolves finding the better chances, controlling possession and dictating the flow of the game in the opening 10 minutes.
However, heroic defending and quality goalkeeping from both teams kept things tied from there despite AHS and DHS both creating scoring chances in the waning minutes of the first half.
With the game locked in a scoreless stalemate, the Tigers came roaring out of the locker room with a renewed vigor and took the fight to the Wolves’ back line.
That ferocity created a flurry of near goals several times, with the DHS goalkeeper denying each one as the AHS stood in shocked disbelief at their misfortune.
Then, the Tigers received a lifeline after the head referee called a penalty on the Wolves’ incensed goalkeeper with 3:53 left in regulation. Coan Park then took the penalty kick with an almost uncanny calmness, rocketing the ball into the upper left-hand corner of the goal.
Park’s successful conversion set off a frantic finale that saw DHS pour everything into an equalizer and the Tigers’ defense stand resolute during a charged and frenetic end to the game. But by that point, it was already too late for the Wolves to respond in kind.