CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Rossview Hawks traveled to Hilda J. Richardson Field for the District 13 Championship against the Clarksville Wildcats. Clarksville put up two goals in the first 10 minutes, but Cassaundra Villa’s two penalty kicks, and a header with less than a minute remaining, completed the comeback, with Rossview winning their third straight district championship, 3-2.
The Wildcats started the scoring early, with Bekah Allen scoring on a free kick within the first minute and Lily Vargus putting one in the back of the net five minutes later for a 2-0 advantage early. The Hawks responded before the half was over, with Villa netting a penalty kick with a minute remaining in the first half, bringing the score to 2-1 at halftime.
Rossview head coach Connie Castleman was proud of the fight her team showed after being down early. “You go down 2-0 early, it would be so easy to just give up,” said Castleman. “They figured out how to dig deep tonight, to put it behind them and come back from that kind of deficit.”
Villa netted another penalty kick with 14 minutes remaining in the contest to bring the score to a 2-2 tie. While everyone in the building thought it was going to overtime, Villa put a header in the back of the net for the game winning goal with only 30 second remaining.
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Clarksville head coach Sara Klutz acknowledges this loss hurt, but knows their season isn’t over.
“It’s just a sick feeling to my stomach,” said Klutz. “Seeing my girls play with all their hearts, the way the game turned out it doesn’t feel fair, but it’s how it goes sometimes. They’re heartbroken, but we want to see this team again, and write a different story.”
As for Rossview, it’s their third straight district title, and a game for the ages. Castleman acknowledged that there’s more work to do, but enjoyed a win in of the craziest games she can remember.
“Cassie (Villa) is crazy,” said Castleman. “I asked her after the game how did you do that? The effort that was there to not just accept overtime, was incredible, from her and from all of them. That’s the most exciting game of soccer we’ve had in a long time, and we needed that.”
PREVIOUSLY: Rossview High girls’ soccer advances in district tournament with win over Kirkwood High | PHOTOS