Emily Beasley’s goal early in the second half was enough for Rochester to keep its season alive on Thursday, as the Warriors topped La Center 1-0 in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game.
“They knew (the season) was on the line,” Rochester coach Matt Ashton said. “The loser is out, and we didn’t want to be that … They played hard, and our girls are ecstatic.”
Coming into the game, Ashton said he felt that La Center was “almost a mirror image” of who the Warriors have been this season, and the match was tightly-contested the entire game.
Early on, the Wildcats did a good job of maintaining possession in the offensive zone, but after Ashton put a third striker at the top, the Warriors started to shift play towards the other end.
“We just wanted to get as much pressure on them as we could,” Ashton said.
That pressure paid off early in the second half, when Beasley side-stepped a defender just inside the box and sent a shot through the hands of the La Center keeper.
Beasley was fouled while taking the shot, and though the referee blew the whistle while the shot was in the air, he let the goal stand after discussion with his linesman.
“I’m glad they allowed the goal,” Ashton said with a slight chuckle.
La Center started to push for an equalizer, but great scoring chances came few and far between.
The Wildcats’ best chance came only about 10 minutes after Beasley’s goal, when a Wildcat forward got around a charging Rochester keeper in the box. The ball was quickly cleared by a nearby defender.
“We have some really good defenders back there,” Ashton said. “Our central midfield and defenders played really well.”
After the final whistle, the Warriors ran onto the field to celebrate together. They are now one win away from returning to the state tournament for the first time since 2013. To remember that team, each of the Warriors had the number 13 written on their body in permanent marker.
“That’s what they were playing for tonight,” Ashton said. “I’m just super proud … We got a few little things to work on, and we’ll work on that (Friday). We’ll just try to tighten things up before whatever game we play on Saturday.”
The Warriors (5-12-1) will hit the road to face Elma, which lost to Seton Catholic in the district semifinals, in a winner-to-state game on Saturday. The Warriors and Eagles played twice in the regular season, and Elma won both matchups by a combined scoreline of 6-0.
