For the second time this year, Glendale beat Rolla on a goal in the last ten minutes of regulation, as the Falcons won 2-1 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 11 tournament.
It snaps a streak of 11-straight appearances in the district finals for the Lady Bulldogs. Rolla had won 9 out of the last 10 district championships.
“It’s tough to lose, especially when it snaps a streak like that, but our kids can walk away with their heads held high. I don’t think our team could have played much better,” said RHS head coach Mike Howard. “We just came up on the wrong end.”
Third-seeded Rolla jumped out to the lead in the contest, as sophomore Jaclyn Standfast scored 19 minutes into the first half on an assist from sophomore Oliva Cox.
Glendale, the No. 2 seed, tied it up just before intermission, as Jenni Frewin knocked home a rebound with five minutes left before halftime.
The game remained tied throughout most of the second half and looked to be headed to overtime. However, Emily Cline devastated Rolla with a goal with just three and a half minutes to play.
It was eerily similar to the two teams’ regular season matchup in Rolla. The Lady Bulldogs lost that game 1-0 on a goal by Glendale’s Lorin Opfer with seven minutes left.
“Our kids can be proud of their effort today. They came and gave it their best. They gave themselves a chance to win against a tough Glendale team, it just didn’t come out our way,” Howard said. “Whether you lose in the first round of districts or in the state finals, if you came and played your best, you can’t be upset because you did what you are supposed to do. It was a very good game. I doubt there where many district semifinal games this well played or this exciting. It was a fun game.”
Fourth-seeded Lebanon upset top-seeded Waynesville for the second straight year in the other semifinal. The Yellowjackets scored three goals in the second half to beat the Tigers 3-2. Lebanon and Glendale will meet for the district title at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Rolla’s season comes to an end with a 17-9 record.
“We won 17 games this season against a very difficult schedule. We played some good teams and we beat some good teams,” Howard said. “We only lose two seniors, and next year we will finally have a large number of seniors for a change. We have a lot of things to look forward to.”
