ST. CLOUD -- With a 1-0 deficit and the clock winding down, senior Annah Schussman wasn鈥檛 ready for the season to end. Unexpectedly, in the 68th minute, she lined up a shot 45 yards away from goal and tied the game with a snipe off the crossbar and in.
鈥淚 was just trying to put it in a good spot that somebody would get a head on it,鈥� Schussman said. 鈥淚n all honesty, obviously it鈥檚 my goal to score, but I wasn鈥檛 shooting necessarily. And then after it left my foot I saw how high it was going and the angle. I saw it and was just like, 鈥榙rop, drop, please, please drop.鈥� And then it did and I was so happy.鈥�
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The goal forced overtime, and in the fourth minute of the first overtime, the Jacks (14-5) clinched a Class A state tournament berth.
鈥淢y mind鈥檚 blank,鈥� BHS head coach Logan Larsen said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been fried for the last 85 minutes. I can hardly think.鈥�
Kelly Christopher flew down the right wing and directed a perfect cross, and Isabelle Morin made a sliding touch and put the golden goal in the back of the net for the 2-1 win over East Grand Forks (18-1) at Husky Stadium at St. Cloud State.
鈥淚t was crazy,鈥� Morin said. 鈥淥nce it was on the ground, I just knew it was gonna go in.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 surreal. This team has meant so much. It鈥檚 your senior year, and you want to make every moment count, so you just become so much closer with the girls. Everyone put in so much work to this season.鈥�
The Green Wave opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Nicole Schlenk got a shot by BHS keeper Ali Beard. After that, EGF just held fast on defense.
The best chance Bemidji could muster in the first half came with 10 minutes left when the Jacks earned a free kick 40 yards from goal.
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Alyse Stone struck one into the 18-yard box and Emma Dean was able to corral it, but her shot went right into East Grand Forks keeper Kenzie Whalen.
The start of the second half was more of the same. The Jacks couldn鈥檛 get any offense going until the last 20 minutes.
With just less than 17 minutes left in regulation, Schussman earned a free kick five yards beyond the 18-yard box. She curled a left-footed shot, but Whalen was there for the easy save.
Four minutes later, though, Schussman got another chance from much further, but that time she was able to use her right foot and didn鈥檛 miss, tying the game at 1-1.
The momentum was all on the Lumberjacks鈥� side the rest of the way, and they kept it going until Morin鈥檚 overtime dagger.
鈥淚t was a beautiful play,鈥� Larsen said. It鈥檚 a finish that鈥檚 hard to pull off at full pace when you鈥檙e making a dead sprint down the line and serving that off, and the one-touch finish was beautiful.
鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of them. The seniors right now were the freshmen the first year I coached, so it鈥檚 been four years of us together and it鈥檚 very awesome to see and have this win. We get to stay together, that鈥檚 the best part.鈥�
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The Jacks will learn the time and location of their first state tournament matchup in the coming days.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a goal for us since the beginning of the season,鈥� Schussman said of advancing to the state tournament. 鈥淢oving on in sections, we knew it was very, very possible for us and we never gave up, and I鈥檓 so incredibly proud everybody on this team that we just kept fighting and fighting and fighting and never gave up and came out with the win tonight. I鈥檓 so proud and so happy.鈥�
Bemidji 2, East Grand Forks 1
BHS 0 1 1 -- 2
EGF 1 0 0 -- 1
First Half: EGF GOAL (Schlenk) 6鈥�, 1-0 EGF.
Second Half: BHS GOAL (Schussman) 68鈥�, 1-1.
Extra Time: BHS GOAL (Morin, Christopher ast) 84鈥�, 2-1 BHS.
