McKnight's Late Game-Winner Lifts Wahconah Girls

DALTON, Mass. -- Wahconah junior Arden McKnight Saturday afternoon snatched victory from the jaws of … if not defeat, something that would have seemed a lot like it.

 

McKnight scored the game-winning goal in the 78th minute for a 2-1 win over Westfield, a game in which Wahconah outshot the opponent 20-12 and broke a scoreless tie in the 75th minute only to see the Bombers tie it moments later.

 

McKnight broke in on an Amelia Daughterty cross from the left wing and outhustled Westfield keeper Lindsay Cousins near the top of the 18.

 

Though McKnight just got enough of the ball to send it past Cousins (18 saves) and into the back of the net, she also caught Cousin’s foot on her shin that sent McKnight to the sideline for the last two minutes, 13 seconds.

 

But her bruising shin wasn’t bothering her too much as she talked about the game-winner.

 

“It burns,” McKnight said with a laugh before describing the winning play. “Amelia Daugherty crossed the ball in, and it came up over the top. And I knew if the goalie was coming out, the net would be open. And I remember my U14 and U12 coach always telling me, ‘Take a picture of the net.’

 

“I looked up and saw that nobody was there, and I tapped it right by them.”

 

For most of the game, it was looking like Wahconah would never get anything by Cousins.

 

She turned away 18 shots before giving up a goal, and Wahconah had at least half that many good chances that ended in shots going just off frame.

 

The home team had the better of the play in the first half, but Westfield generated a few good chances. And for the most part, when the Bombers had an opening they were able to put a shot on Wahconah keeper Sage Howes (11 saves).

 

The Bombers came out of half-time and dominated the opening stages of the second half. But then for a stretch of about 25 minutes it was all Wahconah as it generated one scoring opportunity after another, only to see them all go by the boards.

 

Finally, with 5:03 left on the clock, McKnight’s shot from deep on the right wing deflected off the fingertips of Cousins. It appeared to be heading into the net, but Emmy Cote made sure this opportunity wasn’t lost, and she knocked the ball home on the end line to give Wahconah a 1-0 lead.

 

But as often happens when a team works that hard for that long to break a stalemate late in the game, Wahconah suffered a letdown, and Westfield’s Lindsey Kiltonic scored with 3:46 on the clock to make it 1-1.

 

“I think they just thought it was over in the sense that the time was low,” Wahconah coach Meghan Smith said. “We just learned a lesson: that you keep playing until the whistle blows.”

 

Her side also learned something about perseverance.

 

“We had a couple of games this week where we didn’t shoot the ball,” Smith said. “So I’m proud of them that they kept shooting. It worked out for us. We got two in the net.”

 

Wahconah (3-3) hosts West Springfield on Monday.