Randall girls break through late to earn 2-0 4A bi-district win over Graham
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CANYON — For the first 60 minutes of Thursday's playoff match between the Randall and Graham girls soccer teams, things were as even as you could get. Both teams created excellent chances, but neither of them could get through as things looked destined for an extra period.
Rylee Bennett had no interest in playing past regulation.
Bennett broke through the traffic in the 60th minute and managed to get the ball in the back of the net to break the tie, while Ryan McClain added an insurance goal in the final five minutes, which is all the Lady Raiders needed to get the 2-0 Class 4A bi-district win.
The Lady Raiders are now 19-3-4 overall on the season.
"I knew that if we got one that I felt pretty strongly that we could get a few more," said Randall coach Whitney Bernard, who squad stayed alive in the postseason and improved to 19-3-4 overall. "They were dangerous. We played them in the preseason in a tournament and they were a lot better than they were then. They've got a great coach and a great program over there. To continue to fight, battle and climb that hill and still do what we do, ... that's just what we needed to do and we got it done."
There were moments of frustration, of course. The Lady Raiders nearly put the ball in the back of the net a multitude of times in the first half, and early in the second, but just couldn't seem to put the finishing touches on their attempts.
Until Bennett broke through in a big way in the 60th.
"The ball was coming my way and I knew I had to get it in the goal," she said. "We just had to go up one and keep that momentum going. ... This win means a lot for us because we had a lot riding on us this year since we lost basically half our team. It feels good to break out the win as a team."
While the offense took time to get going, the defense was solid throughout.
Keeper Jani Contreras, the Amarillo Globe-News Preseason Player of the Year, continued her outstanding campaign with her 20th shutout of the season. Bernard noted that Contreras "had to earn it" Thursday.
"Whenever they come close, you have to be ready," Contreras said. "I give so much credit to the defense. Almost all of our defense is new from last year to this year. We're doing so well this year and we work amazing together. You just have to keep grounded and you can't panic in the little moments throughout the game."
Randall is set to take on San Angelo Lake View next week. A time, date and location of that match was not available by the Globe-News’ local print deadline.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Rylee Bennett nets late goal, aids Randall in 4A bidistrict win over Graham
