DUBOIS – There was a span of just 32 seconds in Bradford’s
District 9 Class AAA girls soccer playoff game that the Lady Owls
dearly wish they could have back.

As it were, DuBois made the most of those 32 seconds, scoring
rapid back-to-back goals, and hung on for the 3-2 victory to
advance to the championship game.

Things started out well enough for the visitors, as Bradford
keeper Hope Ruffner was able to gobble up DuBois’ first shot on
goal.

The Lady Beavers would keep the ball in Bradford’s half of the
field for the next few minutes, keeping junior Whitney Cline on her
toes in footrace after footrace with DuBois’ Rachel McMinn.

“Whitney played hard tonight,” said Tony Doriguzzi, BHS head
coach.

Then sophomore Katie White got the ball out in front of a
streaking Lindsay Sherman, a powerful offensive threat for the Lady
Owls, for a possible score, but the DuBois’ keeper Jendi Schwab was
able to clear the ball just in time.

At the 15:36 mark of the first half, Cline was given a corner
kick on the left side and found the back of the net for a 1-0
lead.

Just after a swarm of red shirts thwarted a DuBois assault,
White led a Lady Owl attack back up the field, getting it to
Sherman just in front of the net. Sherman dribbled the ball ahead
of herself faster than even she could run and wound up just out of
range. She solved that by crossing it to a diving Chelsea Rinfrette
who wound up in the goal, but, unfortunately for Bradford, the ball
did not.

Then at the 22:20 mark the Lady Beavers’ Camille Petraitis fired
a shot past two Bradford defenders and, skimming the crossbar, got
the hosts on the board.

Cassandra McAninch, at the 22:52 juncture, snuck one past a
sprawling Ruffner to give the Lady Beavers a sudden, surprising and
deflating 2-1 lead.

Moments before halftime, senior Dana Carrico, a key Bradford
defender, went down with an injury that stopped the game for some
time.

“To have her go down…” Doriguzzi lamented. “She’s a big part of
our defense. She was playing hard.”

After the intermission, DuBois put Bradford in a two-goal hole
with 13:12 left to play on a Petraitis kick that squarely found the
back of the net.

Cline used a penalty kick to cut the deficit to 3-2 on what
would prove to be the game’s final score.

The remaining 3:20 was not enough time for the Lady Owls to
rally and DuBois came away with the victory.

Ruffner ended the game with 10 saves, while Schwab turned away
10 Bradford shots.

“We really didn’t take as many shots as we wanted to,” Doriguzzi
commented. “Although, we were able to limit their attacking play.
Unfortunately, some things just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The Lady Owls finish the season with a respectable 11-8-1
mark.

“The girls really improved this year,” Doriguzzi emphasized.
“They were 6-9-1 last year, so we definitely improved.

“The girls worked extremely hard, and I know that sounds like a
clich_, but they’ll do anything I tell them to do on the field.
It’s been a real privilege to coach this group.”

DuBois will play Clearfield at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Clarion for the
triple-A crown.