Penalty Kicks Lift Sebring Past AP

Ricki Albritton knelt down on the grass at midfield of Tigers Stadium and prayed with the rest of her teammates as Erica Rodriguez stepped up to her penalty kick attempt.

"I was praying that we'd pull through and walk away from this windy night with a win," Albritton said. "As a team, we were lazy during this game and I huddled the girls together before the penalty kicks and said, 'Let's do this!'"

Albritton and the rest of the Streaks' prayers were answered as Rodriguez sealed a victory with her penalty kick to give No. 3 seed Sebring a 3-1 win over No. 6 seed and arch-rival Avon Park during the opening round of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament.

With the win, Sebring was scheduled to face No. 2 seed Braden River on Wednesday night (visit highlandstoday.com/sports right now for result and see Friday's Highlands Today for complete coverage, including photos and reaction).

Both teams had their chances in regulation and in two 10-minute overtime periods, with Avon Park having a golden opportunity with three minutes left in the first OT.

After Sebring was called for a hand-ball violation in the box, Avon Park's Guadelupe Luevano was given a penalty kick that could've given the Devils an upset win, but her shot went off the crossbar and the rivals went to a second overtime, where both teams played to a stalemate.

"We had so many opportunities to win this game, but we just couldn't capitalize on any of them," said AP head coach Jocelyn Simplice. "This was a game of inches tonight."

Sebring's Lisa Pryzchocki missed the first penalty kick and Avon Park's Angie Carrillo put her shot past Hahn for a 1-0 lead. But that was the lone goal for the Devils, as the Streaks hit three in a row by Maxime Copley, Albritton and the game winner by Rodriguez to move on to the next round.

"Both teams played hard and you hate to see a game go to penalty kicks, but those are the rules," said SHS head coach Steve Ashley. "I give Avon Park a lot of credit. They played hard and they deserve the win as much as we did.

"You never know when a game is going to come down to penalty kicks, which is why I had the team practice them on Monday just in case."

Ashley had to quickly put away the game against Avon Park, as his team wasn't going to get home until past 1 a.m. and they'd have to turn back around to play the Pirates in less than 20 hours.

"This is really going to test the girls," Ashley said. "But what I try to tell my team is that there is so much parity in this district that anything can happen during the tournament.

"You can't take any team lightly."

Albritton was her usual exuberant self during the game, particularly during the penalty kick period. She said she was in awe after the game.

"All I can say is 'wow!' " Albritton said. "We really had to step it up and I was trying to give my teammates a lift when I felt we were being too lazy or feeling down during the course of the game.

"I'm just really proud of this team for coming together in a game that could've gone either way."

Mother Nature played a huge roll in this showdown, as shots went wide and passes drifted past their mark constantly due to the swirling winds and frigid temperatures that dipped down into the mid-30s.

Avon Park used the elements to their advantage during the entire match by spreading the field and getting their forwards in good positions to score. But it was the defensive prowess of AP fullback Brenda Bellus and keeper Jacqueline Yanez that kept the Devils' hopes for an upset alive.

Bellus used her speed and acceleration to get to the ball quicker to either clear out a scoring chance or to swarm the Streaks forwards at every turn, making it nearly impossible to get a clean shot.

Yanez' contribution was evident just before halftime when Pryzchocki hit a shot from the left side and the AP goalie made a beautiful diving save, giving the Red Devils a much-needed adrenaline rush.

Pryzchocki had another chance in the 41st minute when Carrie Lester's pass hit the Streaks' senior in stride, but Yanez denied yet another scoring chance for Sebring.

The seesaw battle nearly came to an end before the end of regulation when Avon Park's Ch'quen Wilmot streaked down the left sideline on a breakaway but Sebring goalie Misha Hahn made a diving save of her own.

Wilmot's third shot-on-goal of the game went wide to keep the game scoreless and send the game into overtime.

"I'm really proud of my girls," Simplice said. "They tried hard and I'm elated that we were in there at the end. They have nothing to hang their heads about."

NOTE: This marked the third year in a row that a district tournament game came down to penalty kicks for Avon Park. They're 1-2 in such matches ... Tuesday was a night for penalty kicks, as Hardee shocked DeSoto with a 3-1 win in the early game.