Yough earns wild overtime win in back-and-forth match against Burrell in quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 26, 2017 | 9:54 PM

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Thoughts swarmed through Justine Appolonia's head as she broke in on Burrell's goal in the final minutes of overtime.

She quieted them long enough to score the biggest goal yet of her young high school career.

Appolonia's goal with 5 minutes, 40 minutes remaining in overtime lifted No. 4 Yough to a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Burrell in a Class AA quarterfinal thriller Thursday night at Norwin.

“(It's) amazing,” Appolonia said. “I've never made it this far in the playoffs because I'm a sophomore and last year we got out in this round, so it's awesome.”

On the winning play, Appolonia gathered in a long pass from Nicole Croushore, broke in and put her shot past Burrell goalkeeper Ally Klems, who came out to challenge.

“Every time I'm on a breakaway, you can imagine how many things are going through your head,” said Appolonia, who scored Yough's first goal of the game on a nearly identical play. “Like, ‘Oh, crap, am I going to miss it? Am I not? How am I going to beat the goalie?'

“But honestly, I was just praying to God that I finally scored in overtime.”

Yough (14-2), which relies on a large contingent of freshmen and sophomores, advanced to the semifinals for the second time in school history and first time since 2014. The Cougars will play No. 1 Freedom on Monday at a site and time to be determined.

“One step further than last year, but I told them we're not done,” Yough coach Dann Appolonia said. “We are a very young team, so we've got good years ahead of us, but I told them after the game that there's no better time than now.”

The fast-paced, end-to-end action bore a resemblance to basketball or hockey at times, particularly in the second half. The Bucs and Cougars had golden chances for the winning goal in regulation, but the goalkeepers — Klems and Yough's Sara Krofcheck — proved up to the task, making big saves to keep the score tied.

Other opportunities couldn't find the goal; Yough's Natalie Vilchek missed wide on an open net, and Burrell's Maia Ferra rang a shot off the crossbar with under five minutes remaining.

“It was definitely a tough loss, but the girls gave everyone a great game and I couldn't be more proud of them for their performance tonight,” Burrell coach Shelby Noll said. “They really dug deep. I had a lot of my starters in for the whole entire game, a couple subs here and there, and they really played with their hearts tonight.”

Burrell played aggressively offensively and defensively. The Bucs played a trap defense, with their backs playing up and Klems frequently straying far from the goal line to challenge shooters.

On several occasions, Burrell (12-4-1) caught Yough forwards offside, but other times the Cougars took advantage. Normally a possession team, Yough went more for the long ball to Vilchek and Appolonia.

“I just didn't think possession would be the way we'd win tonight,” Dann Appolonia said. “We needed to defend and just counterattack, and we did just enough of it to win.”

Burrell struck first in the ninth minute as Kaylee Pagane launched a long, high shot from midfield that Krofchek stopped but couldn't corral. Morgan Weeter put in the rebound from point-blank range.

Yough evened the score just over three minutes later as Appolonia gathered in a long lead pass from Hadley Sleith, broke in and put her shot past a challenging Klems and into the net.

Another run from Appolonia set up Yough's next goal in the 22nd minute. Klems challenged again and stopped Appolonia, but the loose ball came to Vilchek, who beat a backpedaling Klems for the go-ahead score.

Danica Johnson tied the score with just over 14 minutes remaining, her left-footed blast deflecting off Krofcheck's outstretched hands and hitting the back of the net.

The Bucs later pressed for another tying score but couldn't beat Krofcheck, who finished with 12 saves.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Yough