Hendersonville players greet Morgan Wettengel (9) after her game-clinching penalty kick during Tuesday’s 3-2 victory at Station Camp.
GALLATIN A penalty kick by Morgan Wettengel sealed a victory for visiting Hendersonville over Station Camp after a 2-2 tie in regulation sent the game into overtime. The Lady Commandos clinched the District 9-AAA regular season championship with the victory.
Five things from Tuesday’s match:
Station Camp strikes first
The Lady Bison scored first midway though the first half. A deep kick from Meagan Lombardi sailed just over the fingertips of Lady Commando goalkeeper Makensie Cotter to give Station Camp a 1-0 lead.
“I thought it was a great game,” Station Camp head coach Thomas Morand said. “Both teams put on a show. It was back and forth, both of us played hard, missed some opportunities, and both of us made some goals when we had a chance. It’s a tough way to get beat but it’s good for us to get to this point where we’re prepared for it if it ever gets this way in the tournament.”
Patience rewarded
Hendersonville would finally respond later in the second half with two goals. Just three minutes into the half, Sydney Cason scored to tie the match at 1-1. With a little less than five minutes remaining, Haley Stevens broke through the Lady Bison defense with a goal to break the tie and give Hendersonville a 2-1 lead.
“When you play somebody six miles down the road, you’re going to have those types of games,” Hendersonville head coach Russ Plummer said. “We had moments where I think we panicked a bit, but I think we regrouped. In the overtimes, I think we regrouped well and did some better things. Even though you’re late in the year, you’re still learning and still trying to make yourself better. I think as long as we continue to try to make ourselves be better we’ll have a chance to do some things.”
Station Camp players look on during the penalty-kick shootout at the end of Tuesday’s match against Hendersonville.
Senior’s late strike extends things
Despite losing their lead from earlier in the game, the Lady Bison stayed alive with some late game heroics. A shot from Megan Brinkley found the net to tie the game back up at two with only 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
“I thought we played fantastic to not give up and score with 17 seconds to go,” Morand said. “You’ve just got to keep believing and we believe in each other and ourselves. It just didn’t fall for us tonight. I can’t ask more respect out of a group of players for how hard they’ve played for this team and this school.”
Wettengel’s winner
After being held scoreless in the two overtime periods, both teams traded penalty kicks. Station Camp would miss two of their kicks, while Hendersonville made all four, ending with Wettengel’s game-clinching shot.
“I was really nervous, but all of the hard work that we’ve been doing paid off and it was really a good win for our team,” Wettengel said. “We were pretty frustrated earlier in the game, but we just focused on how hard we needed to play and holding each other accountable and it just worked out for us in the end.”
Setting the table
Win the overtime victory, Hendersonville moves to 11-2-2 overall and 6-0 in district play. They’ll end their regular season hosting Gallatin at home on Thursday. Station Camp falls to 16-2 overall, finishing 6-1 in District 9-AAA action, and aims to set its sights on postseason play. Tuesday’s match could serve as a preview of the tournament final if things work out for both sides.
“We’ll try to recover and get ready for the district tournament, whoever we play,” Morand said. “Hopefully we’ll get another shot at these guys and we’ll see what happens.”