SOUTHWICK – For the first 40 minutes of Wednesday evening’s Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association girls soccer tournament game, it appeared as if the Southwick Regional Rams might be one and done. The final 42 minutes proved otherwise.
Freshman forward Braelynn Whalley scored on a pass from senior midfielder Bella Faria 1:42 into overtime to cap off No. 10 Southwick’s thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory over No. 23 Wahconah in a state Division-IV girls soccer Round of 32 tournament game Wednesday night at Whalley Park.
“I asked the seniors and all the players [at halftime], ‘is this how you want to end your season, is this how you want to end your high school career,’” Southwick girls soccer coach Chris Whalley said. “I said that ‘some of my favorite wins in my coaching history came from when the game looked over. Those are the ones that you go back to at reunions and talk to your peers about, your friends, your teammates and say remember the night we came back from two down, three down to come back and win. Those are the memories. Those are the stories. Let’s make a story tonight.’”
It was a nightmarish start for Southwick as Wahconah jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the opening moments of the game. Ella Scalise tucked a cross pass from Madison Lee in between the near post on the left side and the Rams first half keeper.
Wahconah made it 2-0 in the 19th minute when the ball off a Brooke Harrington free kick from just outside the 18 found the foot of Gianna Heilbroun, who hammered home the rebound.
Feeling the pressure beginning to mount, Southwick senior midfielder Lorelai Whalley took matters into her own hands over the next several minutes, first starting with a drive around three to four defenders to create a shot for herself that went high. Wahconah senior goalie Paetyn Tatro batted a Rams’ follow-up shot out of the box to preserve her team’s two-goal lead.
Whalley also attempted to steer in a free kick from 25 yards, but Tatro too made that save. Whalley soon drove a ball into the box for another Rams shot, but that one went wide of the near post.
Southwick made a few more runs to goal in the closing minutes of the half, including a beautiful through ball from Braelynn Whalley as the final seconds ticked away, but all three shots were stopped. Whalley’s pass to freshman forward Olivia Gagne allowed Gagne to break away for a point-blank shot. Tatro made the save. The ball bounded out to the Rams, but the second-chance attempt went high.
Gagne kept at it, taking a shot in the opening minute of the second half. Tatro saved it, but Southwick drew a corner kick. The Wahconah keeper batted the ball down again on the corner, and the rebound went wide. The Rams kept the pressure on, earning another corner kick. This time, Lorelai Whalley curled the corner in. Tatro attempted to bat the ball away, but it hit the underside of the crossbar, crossing the goal line.
In the 49th minute, Gagne connected with senior forward Tamia Ortiz, who took the shot to net the equalizer.
Southwick continued to pressure the Wahconah defense. Freshman defender Grace Metras attempted to angle in a side shot that was saved. Lorelai Whalley had a shot go high. Braelynn Whalley passed the ball into the box, but Ortiz’s shot went high.
Wahconah countered, peppering Southwick second half goalie Hazel Olsen with several shots. The Rams defense prevailed.
Southwick responded with several of their own, including five free kicks, one of which Tatro tipped up into the corner of the post and crossbar to keep out of the net.
Wahconah nearly converted a breakaway attempt just before the second half ended when the ball entered the box with five seconds remaining. Olsen went to the ground to save it though, sending the game to overtime.
The momentum stayed on the side of Southwick. The Rams moved the ball quickly down field to begin the second half.
“It looked like a good opportunity to get in the box,” Faria said. “As a midfielder you want to get there, you want to score.”
The ball bounced off a defender out to Lorelai Whalley, who spotted Faria open at the top of the box. Faria drilled it deep into the box, where it landed at the feet of Braelynn Whalley, who tapped it in.
“I needed to get my foot on that, I needed to get that in the net – I was right there – so that I could keep my seniors here,” Braelynn Whalley said.
The ball crossed the goal line with 8:18 remaining in OT, sending the Rams players into a frenzied celebration.
“We have a saying, ‘squash the grape,’” Faria said. “When we get those opportunities to score like what just happened to win it, we finish those opportunities, and we squash that grape and we’re here to stay.”
Braellyn Whalley said the celebration, although well-deserved, will be short-lived however as the team will have a video session, recover, hydrate, and practice hard before their next game on the road against No. 7 Hampshire Regional in the Round of 16 on Friday at 5:30 p.m. “We need to be ready for this game,” she said. “It would be awesome to keep going.”
Faria said the game plan is simple. “We just need to keep striving to be the best, push ourselves past our limits,” she explained. “If we want to win the states, we have to keep pushing, we have to keep beating these big teams. To be the best, you have to beat the best.”
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