Nazareth's Cassie Denger was hoping for the chance to play hero in Friday night's District 11 Class 3A championship game against Parkland.
When the opportunity came, Denger was shocked but ready.
''I was like, 'Oh my God, it's happening,''' the junior forward admitted. ''When I went to strike the ball, I just cleared my head.''
And she kicked the district title the Blue Eagles' way for the second time in three years.
Denger scored on a breakaway goal with 18:34 left in a 1-0 win over the Trojans at Whitehall's Zephyr Sports Complex.
''This is a total transformation,'' Denger said of an Eagles team that had an up-and-down regular season. ''We've come together as a team and done things together outside of practice. We've worked hard in practice and it paid off.''
Nazareth (15-6) plays the District 3 sixth seed (Red Land or Mechanicsburg) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the state playoffs.
Parkland (19-3-1), which won both regular-season meetings with Nazareth, plays District One runner-up Central Rock South in the first round of the state playoffs Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
''You don't play a team three times in one year because they are a pushover,'' Trojans coach Al Haddad said. ''[The Eagles] are a strong team.
''The first 25 minutes, [the Eagles] weathered the storm. You could see then that they gained confidence. We had a chance while they were a little skittish, but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.''
After Parkland controlled play early on with its patented ground passing game, Nazareth slowly got the pace at its level and neutralized the dangerous Tara Huber for most of the night.
As the second half wore on, the Eagles controlled the ball for longer stretches, even with just one forward back and putting an emphasis on clamping down the Trojans' explosive offense.
Nazareth's big chance came when Denger intercepted the ball just before midfield after a ricochet and outraced several Parkland defenders down the field.
''I heard [a Parkland defender] right behind me,'' Denger recalled. ''That's not a good sound.''
But Denger let her speed and foot skills take over the moment. Once inside the box, she put a strong kick on it and Parkland goalie Julia Hulbert never had a chance.
The Trojans pressed on harder as the clock wound down, but never could get a golden opportunity to break the Eagles' defense (including Alex Capecci, Ashley La Bar, Erika Livermore and goalkeeper Brianne Henry), which was very solid all night.
''The big difference between the 12-6 team in the regular season and the district championship team is that [the coaches] always believed in the girls,'' Nazareth head coach Conor Fry said. ''They had to believe in themselves and believe in the team. I knew they had it in them all along.''
Nazareth 0 1 -- 1
Parkland 0 0 -- 0
N: Goal: Cassie Denger. Shots: 5. Corners: 2. Saves: Brianne Henry 5. Record: 15-6. P: Shots: 5. Corners: 8. Saves: Julia Hulbert 4. Record: 19-3-1.
CLASS 2A FINAL
Central Catholic 2, Saucon Valley 0: Dominique Caggiano has had a great view of the Vikettes' run back to the district playoffs this season.
She hated every minute of it.
The junior, a starter a year ago, was injured in the first regular-season game of 2010 and didn't return until the district tournament.
As painful as it was, it ended up being worth the wait.
Caggiano scored for the second game in a row, breaking a scoreless tie at the 36:16 mark of the second half of Friday's district final, an eventual 2-0 win over Saucon Valley at Whitehall's Zephyr Sports Complex.
She chased down her own rebound after Saucon goalie Kelly Shoenberger jumped to save the original shot. The Central Catholic forward then booted it into the net for all the scoring the Vikettes would need.
''Against Northwestern Lehigh, a girl went for a slide tackle and kicked me instead of the ball,'' Caggiano recalled. ''I had a partial tear in my calf. At first, the doctor said I was going to miss the whole season. But I was able to get back about two weeks ago.
''It was great just to practice again.''
Caggiano scored her first goal of the season to tie Tuesday's district semifinal against Northwestern. Central eventually won 3-2 in overtime.
Lauren Kreglow and Casey Hollawell teamed on a corner kick for the second time in two games during Friday's final. This time, it was an insurance goal at 21:36 of the second half.
In Tuesday's semifinal, it was the game winner in overtime.
The district title was Central's second in a row after losing in the 2008 final.
Central Catholic plays the District 3 eighth seed (Middletown/ELCO loser) in the first round of the state playoffs Wednesday at a site and time to be announced. Saucon Valley takes on the District 3 fourth seed Lancaster Mennonite loser, also Wednesday.
Central Catholic 0 2 -- 2
Saucon Valley 0 0 -- 0
CC: Goals: Dominique Caggiano, Lauren Kreglow. Assist: Casey Hollawell. Shots: 7. Corners: 4. Saves: Steph Vargas 5. Record: 15-6-1.
SV: Shots: 5. Corners: 0. Saves: Kelly Shoenberger 5. Record: 17-4.
CLASS 2A THIRD-PLACE
Southern Lehigh 2, Northwestern Lehigh 1, OT: Courtney Long scored a goal less than a minute into the game and then assisted on Emily Cerciello's game winner with 26 seconds left in overtime to give the Spartans the third and final state playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the Tigers on Friday at Whitehall's Zephyr Sports Complex.
Cassie Yost tied the game at the 28:40 mark of the second half for Northwestern Lehigh (18-5), which played without injured leading scorer Katie Hallingstad.
About seven minutes earlier, Long had a breakaway chance for Southern Lehigh (19-2-1), but Chelsea Ritter made a great right-leg kick save to keep it 1-0.
Southern Lehigh plays the District 3 champion Trinity on Wednesday at a site and time to be announced. Northwestern's season ends at 18-5.
Southern Lehigh 1 0 1 -- 2
Northwestern Lehigh 0 1 0 -- 1
SL: Goals: Courtney Long, Emily Cerciello. Assist: Long. Shots: 10. Corners: 3. Saves: Melanie Novak 2. Record: 19-2-1.
NWL: Goal: Cassie Yost. Assist: Sara Jones. Shots: 3. Corners: 8. Saves: Chelsea Ritter 8. Record: 18-5.
From the Morning Call
On this page I will have all information on sports events from Nazareth High School and all other sports events in the country. I will also have news about myself and other people.
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