Norman's OT goal lifts GH

Tue, May 20, 2008    to del.icio.us

Andrea Norman didn't have time to think, so she let her instincts take over. Fortunately for Norman, her instincts were dead-on.

The Buccaneer junior knocked in the game's lone goal on a quick one-touch shot with 6 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the first overtime period Monday, giving Grand Haven a 1-0 victory over the Rockford Rams in the semifinal round of the O-K Red Conference tournament.

"I didn't have a lot of time, so I just one-touched it," Norman said of the game-winner, which came off a pretty pass from teammate Aliina Weykamp. Weykamp, the Bucs' outstanding freshman midfielder, drew the attention of the Rams' defenders, including goalie Kristin Darby, then slid a pass across to Norman, who had an open goal to shoot at.

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"Aliina just looked and found me. She finds a lot of people. She just knows where to place the ball," Norman said. "I was just looking for the pass."

This was the second time in as many meetings that Grand Haven and Rockford have gone to overtime this spring. The first time around, the Bucs scored late in the second overtime period to edge the Rams, 1-0, as Grand Haven finished up an unbeaten run through the O-K Red Conference.

Monday's victory marked the Bucs' 11th consecutive win and helped Grand Haven advance to Wednesday's O-K Red tournament championship game. The No. 1-seeded Bucs will face the second-seeded Panthers of West Ottawa, who beat Hudsonville in Monday's other semifinal contest, 1-0. Grand Haven beat West Ottawa two weeks ago, 3-2, in a game that the Bucs led 3-0 at halftime.

If Grand Haven wins Wednesday, the Bucs would claim the league championship outright. If West Ottawa wins, the Panthers would earn a share of the league title.

"This is our 11th straight win, but we don't talk about that," said Grand Haven coach Cor Damhuis, whose team is 13-1-3. Both the Bucs and the Rams are honorable mention in the latest Division 1 state rankings. "We talked about it before we got started — it's just another game. Let's not look ahead.

"At the same time, I know in my mind that we might see (Rockford) again in the districts."

Both goalies had several nice saves to keep the game scoreless throughout regulation. Three times, Rockford attackers rushed in behind the Bucs' defense, and each time, goalie Katie Malnight came out to cut down the angles, forcing shots wide of the goal.

The Bucs' best scoring chances came in the closing minutes of the second half as Weykamp twice got behind the Rams' defense. Both times, Rockford's Darby was up to the task as she also played very aggressively, coming out to disrupt Weykamp's shots, stopping one and forcing the other to go wide right.

"Katie had a couple fantastic saves, and their keeper did, too," Damhuis said.

The Bucs' defense, led by sweeper Evan Creswell and stopper Krista Clement, neutralized the Rams' attack for most of the night, limiting Rockford to just seven shots to the Bucs' 13.

The victory leaves Grand Haven one win short of its most immediate goal, which is to win the program's first league title since 2000.

"We're still undefeated in the conference, and we're hoping to get the O-K Red championship. We haven't had one in a few years," Norman said.

"This year, we really wanted to be in charge of the O-K Red, and we don't want to share it with anybody," Damhuis said. "Now it's all up to the girls. It doesn't matter who the opponent is. We have to come out and play every game."

JUNIOR VARSITY: Grand Haven scored a 1-0 win over Rockford Monday thanks to Sarah Kober's goal. Alex Concannon and Keaghan Ottenbaker each had outstanding games, according to coach Trisha Forfinski.