El Dorado Beats Cypress in Final Minute of Overtime

Freshman defender Tasia Duarte scored off a rebound of sophomore midfielder Robin Bennett’s indirect free kick with less than 30 seconds to play in overtime Thursday, giving El Dorado a 1-0 victory over visiting Cypress in Empire League girls’ soccer.

Cypress junior Amanda Hiar, who received a yellow card in the second half, picked up the dissent foul that led to El Dorado’s free kick from just outside the box. Bennett slammed the kick off the crossbar and the rebound went straight to Duarte, who flicked it into the goal.

“I don’t think that kind of call should decide a game,” Cypress Coach Dave King said. “But we are only one point out of first place and next time we get them at our place.”

The victory moved defending league champion El Dorado (9-7-2, 4-0-1) into first place. It was the teams’ second meeting this season;Cypress (11-4-2, 4-1) beat the Golden Hawks, 2-1, in the Ocean View tournament.

Duarte’s goal spoiled an almost perfect game by Cypress goalkeeper Angela Orr. She had eight saves and held off a strong second-half attack by the Hawks, who outshot Cypress, 12-6, after halftime.

Cypress lost leading scorer Gina McAskill late in the second half, when she was knocked down and injured her shoulder. And while Cypress’ offense was diminished by her absence in overtime, El Dorado’s picked up steam--although Orr was able to thwart the attacks until the closing seconds.

“She’s an unbelievable keeper,” King said. “She’s not really forced too much, but today she was. I told her before the game she was going to get to touch the ball today and I think she loved it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in the end.”

McAskill’s counterpart, sophomore Rashelle Pacourek, also played well, saving four of Cypress’ eight first-half shots. Pacourek finished the game with six saves.