By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
LAKE PLACID - It's all gravy at this point, in their coach's mind, as the Lady Dragons posted a late comeback and overtime clincher Tuesday night to reach the District 10-2A Tournament title game.
"We're such a young team that I wasn't expecting too much this year," head coach John Merlo said afterward. "I mean, we've got very good players, but with our youth, I thought this would be more of a learning season to build on for the next few years."
Well the learning curve has been accelerated as Lake Placid put up a winning record on the season and got them the second seed in the tournament bracket.
And Tuesday's match with DeSoto served as somewhat a microcosm of what the season has been like and avenged an earlier loss to the Bulldogs.
"We won our first match against them and were up 2-0 with 10 minutes to go the last time we played them," Merlo said. "We had the lead and relaxed, then they scored three goals in a matter of minutes.
"The girls seem to play better when they're down, which is a sign of their youth," he continued. "We really came on at the end of that match, but just couldn't get one to go in."
They got one in very early this time around as co-captain Stephanie Bennett booted in a deflection of a Michelle Hunter shot just 1:22 into Tuesday's match.
But DeSoto kept the pressure on, sending a few deep releases that had freshman keeper Tamija Douglas racing out time and again to make diving covers just ahead of a charging Bulldog.
Those continued charges would soon pay off, however, as DeSoto provided a reminder of their last match with two goals within a three-minute span to tie and then take the lead.
The margin remained through halftime and throughout much of the second half, with both sides battling tooth-and-nail.
Douglas had to come out of the game momentarily at one point after one of her diving efforts corralled not only the ball, but an in-progress kick as well.
But that extra gear the Dragons kick into when they are down soon paid dividends as, with 7:38 left in regulation, Bennett again put home a shot at close range for the game-tying goal.
Lake Placid had a couple other chances in the waning moments, but would have to go to overtime before settling it.
And it wasn't too long into the extra time that Bennett was bringing the ball in toward the goal along the end line.
DeSoto's keeper came out and tried to clear it, but Bennett pushed through and got it past, leaving the ball free and the goal exposed.
And it was Hunter that got her foot on it first, hammering it into the back of the net for the game winner to set up a Friday night title match against top-seed Frostproof.
"That was a great match," Merlo said. "We got down, but put it together and were able to finish. Stephanie really played great under a lot of pressure, getting the two goals and assisting that last one.
"Now for Frostproof, who we've played tough both times this year," he continued. "If we can keep our confidence and play like we know we can, we can play with anyone."
Friday, January 18, 2013 - www.newssun.com/FRI-1-18-13-LPGSoccer