South River made the most of a second chance Monday night.
With the District V title game against Glenelg tied, 2-2, the top-ranked Gladiators threatening to score and overtime looming, the No. 3 Seahawks managed one last fast break.
To stop the play, the Glenelg defense intentionally swept the ball over the end line, which resulted in a penalty corner call with 30 seconds on the clock.
South River's Madelyn Santa inserted the ball to Stacey Mackintosh. During the scrum in front of the goal, the ball hit a Glenelg defender's foot, and a second corner was called with 2.5 seconds left in regulation.
Santa's insert to Mackintosh was strong and true, and Mackintosh nailed the ball for the game-winning goal.
The corner [and goal] was "a major adrenaline rush," Mackintosh said of her second goal of the game.
"It was a wicked shot. It was good," Glenelg's Alyssa Parker said. "We were knocking on their door, but they got that quick transition and beat us down [the field] and got those two corners and took it to us."
Added Glenelg's Mary Kate Olson: "It's a killer, especially when it's a corner and there's no time on the clock. You know you either stop it or they score. You only have five people back there, and it's tough. You're outnumbered."
Even though there is no time on the clock, corners at the end of a period are played until the defense gets the ball out of the circle, the offense fouls or a goal is scored.
Glenelg looked disconnected as South River scored twice to take a 2-0 halftime lead, but the Gladiators came out strong after the break with Stephanie Asher scoring a pair of goals to tie the game up. Parker assisted on one, Emily Russo on the other.
Parker had a beautiful shot with 14 minutes left that South River keeper Shannon Flanagan blocked with her glove.
"I feel like that was the turning point," Flanagan said. "We realized that, hey, we are still in this game. Personally, I was mentally flustered after [their] first goal, that save refocused me."
"This was great for the playoffs, seeing a different team," South River coach Katie Corcoran said. "The best way to go into the playoffs is with a challenge like this."
It was Glenelg's first loss of the season. South River's only loss of the year came in its tournament at the beginning of the season.
South River has the No. 1 seed in its Class 4A region; Glenelg is No. 1 in its Class 2A region.