Tea Area is celebrating a state soccer championship this week after topping West Central 1-0 in a shootout on Saturday night in the ‘A’ girls state title match.
These two teams were consistently the top two programs in their class this season. West Central was seeded number one, going undefeated in the regular season, while Tea Area came in as the number two seed. The Titans only two regular season losses were a one goal road contest against West Central in August, and a 3-0 loss to Harrisburg, who went on to win the ‘AA’ state championship.
Most fans who came out to watch West Central and Tea Area on Saturday night knew it was going to be close.
“We knew coming it, it would probably come down 0-0 to a shootout,” said Tea Area girls head soccer coach Mark Anderson. “Both teams don’t give up goals. Both teams are good, but the best team won.”
It’s hard to prepare for every situation that you might see in a game, but with two opponents who mirror each other so well, a penalty kick shootout was a real possibility.
After 80-minutes of regulation, 20-minutes of overtime, and five rounds of penalty kicks, the match was still tied. In the sixth round, however, a West Central miss set up the perennial game-winner from Sydney Sherwood.
Sydney Sherwood with the winning kick in the sixth round of a shootout. The Tea Area Titans are state champs in 'A' girls soccer. #SDSoccer22 pic.twitter.com/6WqL8hLOJu
— SDPB Sports (@SDPBSports) October 16, 2022
“She wasn’t missing. Trust me, there’s a story behind that. We missed last year,” explained coach Anderson. “This year, no, and I knew she wouldn’t miss it.”
“I felt way more confident than last year, so I knew I wasn’t missing,” said Sydney Sherwood, who also reflected on going out this way as a senior. “Well deserved for all the team, and I’m going to miss it, but it’s a great year.”
Goalkeeper Jessica Nelson made some key stops down the stretch in regulation, as well as a big one in the shootout to help lead Tea Area to victory.
“That was my best game so far. I hate PK shootouts, I don’t like them, so when I saved that, I was just blown away,” stated Jessica Nelson. “It’s just being proud of where I am. I get to be a part of a really big family and have a lot of friends and everything. Just, being prideful of all the friends I’ve made here and all.
Tea Area and West Central have met in the ‘A’ girls title match five times, counting this year. It’s the second state championship for Tea Area, their first coming in 2019.
