Soccer: Mancin saves best for last, helps North Hall into semifinals (5/3)

HALL COUNTY -- North Hall girls assistant coach Jerome Samuels feels his team fields the best goalkeeper in the state in junior Mary Mancin.

On Saturday afternoon at The Brickyard, she showed why.

Mancin saved three of four shots in a penalty shootout against visiting St. Vincent's Academy that helped the Lady Trojans to a 3-1 shootout win, moving North Hall into the Class AAA semifinals.

"[Mary] showed today that she's class," Samuels said. "It really helps our girls to relax when they know they've got someone in the goal that can come up big like that."

Mancin came up big throughout the contest, making several key stops to help North Hall maintain a 0-0 scoreline through regulation and overtime. But she undoubtedly saved her best for last, stopping the first and third penalty kicks in the shootout and then diving high and to her left to save the fourth -- paving the way for the Lady Trojans into Wednesday's semifinals.

"It was mostly reaction," Mancin said. "My goalkeeping coach Dan Fiefer did a great job telling me how to read [their penalty takers]. Mostly I'm proud of our team for making all of our penalties. It was great."

Tess Patton, Laura Lane and Bradee Burell buried each of their spot kicks for North Hall (15-1-1).

"We've been working on penalties non-stop since the playoffs started," Samuels said. "Because in the postseason, you're supposed to run into opponents that are going to shut you down, and you may have to win on penalties."

St. Vincents (14-3-1) and North Hall handcuffed each other for much of a contest that provided few scoring opportunities -- though each did have chances to fashion a win in regulation.

After a tight first half battle, each team began to stream forward in the second half in search of a goal.

North Hall's Elizabeth Williams blocked a point-blank shot from Casey Dixon with 28 minutes remaining.

Two minutes later it was the Lady Trojans turn to push forward, but North Hall's Laura Lane couldn't direct her header on target.

North Hall's Madison tried her luck from 18 yards out with 17 minutes left, but her pushed her shot wide of the target.

As the half waned, the Lady Trojans, led by Patton -- who dropped from her striker position into midfield -- and Burell began taking control of the contest and kept play in the Saints' half of the field.

Yet the Saints pushed back and came up with the best scoring opportunity of the contest with 14 minutes left, when Mancin charged for a loose ball in the Lady Trojans penalty area. The Saints Alana Dixon beat her to the ball and lofted a shot at North Hall's unmanned goal, but the hurried shot fell just wide of the target.

Patton took one last chance at ending the game in regulation, dispossessing a Saints defender and charging into the St. Vincent penalty area, but she couldn't put her 16-yard shot on goal with 10 minutes remaining.

With no score, the game drifted into overtime, where neither team found the killer touch. It wasn't until Mancin blocked the first penalty kick that the game's outcome seemed certain.

"It took all of our athleticism and skills to win today," Mancin said. We had to bring it all on the field."

Now, the fifth-ranked Lady Trojans will take on No. 1 Blessed Trinity (14-0-1) in the semifinals -- a team that North Hall says it is well familiar with.

"I play with a lot of their players in club ball," Mancin said. "We're pumped. I know they're bigger, faster and more skilled, but I think this is an upset year. I think we can win."

Kickoff time for Wednesday match is to be determined.