Tie with BC gives Hampshire share of BN-East crown

Hampshire didn't win, but a 1-1 tie with Burlington Central had the feel of a Whip-Pur victory. With the win, Hampshire clinched at least a share of the Big Northern East girls soccer championship.

Alex Field put the Whip-Purs ahead early in the second half, but Erica Heissler tied it for the Rockets 4 minutes later. The teams played through 2 scoreless overtimes.

The game had a playoff intensity, with a large crowd responding to every plot twist.

"It was like two heavyweights pounding the snot out of each other," said Hampshire coach Patrick O'Brien. "Someone was going to submit but neither one did tonight."

Field exemplified the game's intensity. She went down in obvious pain 3 times, but each time got up and returned to the game.

Ten minutes into the second half, she came in on Central goalkeeper Caitlin Solberg, deked her to the right, then fired a shot across the crease into the far side of the net.

That was the only blemish on Solberg's night. She, with considerable help from Cara Martini and the rest of the defense, kept the Rockets in the game with several acrobatic saves, including a stop on Field's penalty kick midway through the second half.

"I played this game for my seniors and for my 3-year-old cousin," said Solberg. "This whole game gave me such emotion because this was our last game with our seniors."

Hampshire can win the title outright by defeating Richmond-Burton today. Central finishes the regular season with Marengo on Monday.

"We didn't come in here and think that it would be easy for us," said Field. "Both teams played their hearts out. We had a lot of shots, we just didn't get them in the net."

Indeed, the Whip-Purs (16-5-1, 8-0-1) outshot the Rockets 7-0 in the first half, but went into intermission tied 0-0. The Whips continued the onslaught after the break, but only Field's shot found the net.

Minutes later, Heissler took a pass from Cammille DeLacruz and fired a missile past Hampshire keeper Haylee Moscato from about 10 yards out.

Hampshire used its speed on both ends of the field, hustling for offensive opportunities and moving quickly to stop the Rockets defensively.

Rockets' coach Mike Gecan thought the Rockets looked scared at times in the presence of the big crowd.

"This was not us," he said.