By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
FENTON - Mid-Buchanan has experienced a lot of long matches this season.
Friday's Class 1 state semifinal against Whitfield, in fact, was the fifth overtime game they've played this season.
The Dragons (15-7) tied the game at 1-1 in the second half and forced double overtime, but a goal by Whitfield's Mia Devrouax with 2:39 left in the second OT period gave the Warriors a 2-1 victory on a steamy Friday afternoon at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.
"Regardless, they played a fantastic game," Mid-Buchanan coach Danielle Beers said of her team's effort. "They have nothing to hang their heads about. You know, we still get a chance to play to be the third best team in the state. That alone is an accomplishment. Getting here is an accomplishment. Now, it's just enjoying the rest of what we got left."
The Dragons survived a tough first half, in which Whitfield fired off seven shots-on-goal. The Warriors (12-6) had two shots bounce off the top crossbar and one off the right sidebar in the first half alone, resulting in a 0-0 tie at the break.
Whitfield broke that tie within the first five minutes of the second half. Devrouax, a sophomore striker and first-team all-state performer, got a cross pass in the middle from teammate Ella Rogan, and put in a goal from just a few yards away to put Whitfield ahead 1-0 with 35:00 left in the second half.
Fourteen minutes later, Mid-Buchanan had the answer. Sophomore striker and team scoring leader Emily Parrott beat everyone to a free ball in the middle of the field and was able to draw Whitfield keeper Brittan Schaefer out of the goal. Parrott poked the ball into an open net to knot the game at 1-1 with 21:00 left in regulation.
That was Mid-Buchanan's first shot-on-goal of the match.
"I just go for the ball," Parrott said. "I just try to get it in there. I'd do anything for our team to win this."
Whitfield had their chances to score again late, as the Warriors saw two more shots bounce off of the crossbar in the second half - both of those within the final 16 minutes of regulation.
Parrott had a decent look at a late goal herself with 6:40 left in the second half, but she was called offside just a few yards away from the goal.
Neither team could really capitalize in the first overtime period. Mid-Buchanan had seven corner kicks, four of them in overtime play, but none of them amounted to much as Whitfield was able to kick the ball away from the goal after each one.
Whitfield kept Mid-Buchanan keeper Mallie Lieffring busy throughout the game, as she finished with 15 total saves - three of those in overtime play.
Most of the second overtime saw both teams kicking the ball up and down the pitch, trying to get some semblance of a shot off, but not a lot was materializing for either side.
With less than three minutes left in the second OT, Whitfield got the ball inside the Dragons' 18-yard box. With 2:19 left until a penalty kick faceoff, Devrouax kicked a ground ball across the goal opening and into the back of the net to lift the Warriors to a 2-1 victory.
"After that first goal, they could have just laid back and let (Whitfield) put a couple more in, but they fought until the very last second of the game," Beers said. "To go into double overtime and play an extra 15 minutes, you can't ask for anything more, and they definitely left it all out there."
Mid-Buchanan will now face Greenwood (15-4) for third place on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. After a long, grueling game on the hot turf that went longer than 2.5 hours, it's a short turnaround for the Dragons.
But, they regroup, knowing they still have a lot to play for. Especially for a program that's only been doing this for two seasons.
"I think we need to relax, take a deep breath and go out there and play with whatever we have left," Parrott said.
"They worked really hard all season," Beers added. "Every aspect of that game, they showed they deserved to be there."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.