Rosati-Kain again thwarts Notre Dame soccer team in Class 2 quarterfinals

ST. LOUIS -- Taylor Rinda went airborne, timing her leap perfectly to deflect Sarah Lawrence's pass with a header toward the Rosati-Kain goal.

The Cougars' goalkeeper partially blocked the shot, the ball bouncing precariously close to the goal line for a split second before being cleared by the defense.

It was that kind of day for the Notre Dame girls soccer team, which saw its dream of a berth in the Class 2 final four dashed by Rosati-Kain 2-0 in a state quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.

"You look at where we were a year ago in this game, and the progress that we made, or even where we were at the beginning of the season," said Bulldogs coach Jeff Worley after his team finished 14-9. "We had to make a lot of adjustments, players had to work really hard to get back out onto the field. We have a lot to be proud of."

But when it came down to finishing, Rosati-Kain held the upper hand. The Cougars (18-6-1) scored their first goal nearly midway through the first half when Sarah Schott stole a ball near midfield and passed ahead to Celsey Royer, who ran onto the pass in front of the goal and rocketed a shot past Notre Dame goalkeeper Madison Buelow.

Notre Dame’s Miranda Fowler, back, and Abby Boyer hug after the Bulldog’ 2-0 loss to the Rosati-Kain Cougars in the Class 2 girls quarterfinal Saturday at St. Louis University High School in St. Louis. (Adam Vogler)

It stayed that way until the final minute of the half, when Rosati-Kain's Amanda Schad used her speed to run onto a ball near the end line. Her shot from the side was high, and Buelow got a hand on it, but it rebounded directly to Schott, who tipped it in just 17 seconds before halftime.

"I was not anticipating [the ball] to go over, but it did and I was ready," Schott said. "It was exciting. I was really glad we worked hard and got it in."

The score was particularly deflating to the Bulldogs, who had stood toe to toe with the state's seventh-ranked team in Class 2 until that point.

"We were down a goal, and the second goal really hurt going into halftime," Worley said. "We made a rush at 'em, and they countered and got a good result out of it."

Rosati-Kain coach Bill Taylor didn't underestimate the importance of the score seconds before intermission.

Notre Dame’s Jordan Nelson dribbles down the field during the Bulldogs Class 2 quarterfinal game.

"It was hard to establish rhythm in this game," he said. "I thought both defenses did a good job of breaking up the other team's offense. It was hard to establish any type of flow. And then when you add in a late goal by us, that just gives us all the momentum that we want and need heading into the second half."

The second half was marred by a nearly 90-minute lightning delay that occurred with 24 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the contest, a break that served as a wake-up call for the Bulldogs.

"In the second half, we had some pretty good opportunities," Worley said about his team's offensive thrusts, which were few and far between over the first 40 minutes. "I thought it was even coming before the delay. It felt like things were swinging a little bit more in our favor, and I thought we did a good job of continuing on."

About six minutes before the delay, Notre Dame missed on a great chance to score when Lawrence made a nice run up the middle of the field before passing to Jordan Nelson on her right. Nelson cranked a shot that was blocked point-blank by a Cougar defender.

After the delay, the Bulldogs came out even more aggressively. Notre Dame earned a corner kick, but Rinda's header off Kaitlin Welter's well-placed kick went just wide. With just under three minutes left, junior Annie Siebert took a throw-in but shot high over the crossbar. Moments later, Rinda's header off Lawrence's pass nearly found the net before being cleared.

Notre Dame’s Taylor Rinda tries to get past Rosati-Kain’s Brooke Greiner during their Class 2 quarterfinal game. Additional photos can be viewed at semoball.com.

The final horn enabled Taylor to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I certainly give credit to Notre Dame for getting this far and pushing us," he said. "They gave us everything we could handle."

He said part of his game plan was to limit Rinda's touches on Notre Dame's offensive end.

"We really limited the chances that [Rinda] saw,' he said. "We denied her the ball, and I thought a lot of their offense was kind of centered around her. They couldn't get it in to her, and we saw them getting frustrated."

Notre Dame midfielder Miranda Fowler, one of just four seniors on the Bulldogs' roster, liked the way her team responded in the second half despite being down by two goals.

"Our second half was a lot better than our first," said Fowler. "I think we left it all out there at the end."

Rosati-Kain, which won last year's quarterfinal 6-1 over the Bulldogs, advances to face Jefferson City Helias Catholic on Friday in a state semifinal.

"They're always a good competitor," a dejected Rinda said after the game. "It just didn't work that well for us today. ... We just couldn't finish. I don't think we gave up at all."