ELLERBE — It took a sudden death round of penalty kicks, but the No. 3 Rockingham Middle School girls’ soccer team won the 2019 Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference championship Thursday.
Traveling to in-county opponent and top-seeded Ellerbe Middle School, the Lady Rockets pulled off the upset winning 2-1. The score was a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, and Rockingham bested the Lady Wildcats 3-2 in penalty kicks.
The win in the title game by the Lady Rockets redeemed an earlier season loss to Ellerbe, which was a 2-0 decision. On its rode to the championship, Rockingham also beat No. 6 Spring Hill and No. 2 Hamlet middle schools.
“I’d like to give a shout out to Ellerbe,” Rockingham coach Ashley Turner said after the game. “They are an amazing team and it couldn’t have come down to a better game. Their sportsmanship was awesome.
“We play with a lot of heart,” she added. “My girls play hard in practice and they have awesome teamwork and camaraderie. They’re like a family.”
It would be head coach Derek Anderson’s Lady Wildcats who got on the board first. Ellerbe controlled possession of the ball for the better part of the first half, and sixth grader Ava Thompson was rewarded with her first goal of the postseason.
In the 9th minute, Thompson found a bouncing ball in the box and connected to put it past Rockingham’s goalkeeper C’Niya Hinson to take a 1-0 lead. Ellerbe would hold onto that score until half time.
The game’s momentum shifted in the 47th minute when the Lady Rockets knotted the game at a goal apiece. Off a throw in along the right sideline, Evie Rae Howell one-timed a shot that sailed through traffic and past Lady Wildcat goalkeeper Chloe Nunn.
With the clock winding down, Rockingham committed a foul inside its own box in the 53rd minute. Anderson sent Melissa Morales to the line, but her shot went wide right.
Both teams wouldn’t find the back of the net before the final whistle, forcing the game to PKs.
For Rockingham, Karter Walker and Gabby Lutz made their goals on the first and fourth shots for Rockingham, while Layla Hayden and Yulianna Gonzalez made goals for Ellerbe in the first and fourth kicks as well.
Tied 2-2 in the extra frame, Rockingham’s Alex Poplin netted the eventual championship-winning goal. She beat Nunn to the top left of the goal. Trying to extend the PKs for Ellerbe was Thompson, but her shot went high right.
“Our eighth graders are going to be missed,” Turner closed. “A lot of them should be playing for Richmond in the coming years. I’m still in shock that we won.”
Rockingham finished the season 10-2, while Ellerbe posted a 9-2 mark.
