Gateway junior midfielder Caroline Booth, left, traps the ball as a Monson defender moves in during Sunday night’s MIAA Western Mass. Division IV girls’ soccer title game at Westfield State University. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The Gateway Regional High School girls’ soccer team’s super-sized run has come to an end.
Monson’s Brooke Murphy tallied a late controversial goal, and the top-seeded Mustangs held on to defeat No. 3 Gateway 1-0 in the Western Massachusetts Division IV championship Sunday night at Westfield State University.
In the 65th minute, Murphy stepped in to tap in a loose ball on an open net when the ball took a backward roll on a deflection by Gateway goalie Sarah Otterbeck, following a cross pass.
The goal sent the Gateway coaching staff into a tirade as the Gators’ coaches pleaded for an offsides call on Murphy. It appeared to be a borderline play, but the officials let the score stand.
Gateway had a couple of nice corner kicks late, but the Gators could not get a foot on the ball in traffic out in front of the net.
The Gators, who went 11-3-4 in the regular season and posted a stunning upset of second-seeded Cathedral on penalty kicks in Friday night’s semis, ran out of time.
“It took a freak play for them to score,” said Gateway coach Steve Estelle, who acknowledged his team’s superb run despite entering the game as big-time underdogs against Monson (17-2-2).
Gateway goalie Sarah Otterbeck was under pressure early, making a nice save in the fifth minute. Otterbeck stepped in to kick away a Monson shot, and the Gators’ defense protected well against a rebound, turning it away as well.
Monson pressured Gateway for much of the first half, but the Gators’ defense managed to get a deflection here and a stop there to thwart each attack.
Haley Richard attempted to curl in a shot for Monson from the left corner near the flag in the 28th minute. Otterbeck corralled the ball.
Less than a minute later, Gateway earned a direct kick from about 18 yards out. The Gators tapped the ball to a teammate. The Mustangs stepped in to break up the play.
With just over five minutes left in the half, Gateway had a chance on a corner kick. Monson stepped in after the initial stop to pry the ball away.
Gateway had some chances in the second half, including an early corner kick 3 minutes, 36 seconds into the half.
Gateway nearly had a breakaway materialize with 26:26 remaining, connecting on a nice pass as the Monson defense retreated. The Gators blasted a shot toward the net, forcing Monson goalie Mackenzie Walat to make a diving save out near the top of the goalie box.
With the field reversed, Otterbeck made a key save a few moments later, stepping up high in the penalty box to break up another scoring opportunity. Monson’s Megan McGuill slipped past a defender at the last second, only to have the Gateway goalie clog up a potential breakaway.
“We had scoring opportunities,” coach Estelle said. “(Monson) controlled the ball a little bit better … (Our girls) played their hearts out. We’ve been here a lot. That was a great game.”
