Stratford’s late momentum swing not enough as Eagles fall in semifinal against Brookstone 2-1

The Brookstone Cougars came in only two games above .500, seeded sixth. They also came as the defending state champs.

Stratford got the latter of those two options.

The second-seeded Eagles were in the rare position of trailing within five minutes, and couldn’t get into their normal groove en route to a 2-1 loss Thursday night to visiting Brookstone in a GIAA Class 4A girls soccer semifinal.

“The girls played really well today,” Brookstone head coach Chris Carter said. “Came out with lots of intensity, and the drive to try to (go) back to back.”

Stratford’s season ended at 15-2, and at the same point it ended last year when the Eagles fell 5-0 to St. Anne-Pacelli, who this year ended FPD’s season 5-2 in the other semifinal Thursday.

Brookstone improved to 10-7, and will take on Pacelli on Tuesday at Stratford in the championship.

Watching other teams play for the title on their field won’t be that big an issue for Stratford, since school is out and it’s doubtful any Eagles will show up for a pair of Columbus schools. But it’ll still be painful to think about.

“Only one team gets to walk away a champion,” Stratford head coach Kate Blankenship said of her postgame talk with the team. “We fight as hard as we can for that to be you at the end of the season, and sometimes that doesn’t work out.”

Blankenship didn’t pay much heed to Brookstone’s record, based on how the Cougars got there.

“If you looked at their schedule, they had a pretty tough schedule,” she said. “I never looked at them and their record as a downside. That made me go, ‘That team’s tested and they’ve seen adversity and they’re going to fight.’”

And they did, perhaps a little to the surprise of Carter.

“Today, the intensity and playing for the whole 80 minutes and finishing the game out,” he said in gauging the performance against much of the season. “This has been a challenging year, tough schedule, lot’s of conflicting events.

“But today, the girls actually came out and showed us what we’re made of.”

Stratford was held to a goal for only the third time this season. FPD did it twice, in a 3-1 win and then in a 1-1 tie that was a Stratford win on penalty kicks.

Brookstone came out sharper, a hair faster and with better passing, plus setting a game-long trend of players blocking shots that never got near the net.

And they needed less than five minutes to take the lead, when Avery Hudson tracked down a loose ball and found some room amid traffic in front of the net for a fairly uncontested goal at the 36:48 mark.

The Eagles got shots, but were off-target on normal tries as well as free kicks. Passes just missed, more than usual, and Brookstone had better balance and defense.

Maybe that sense of urgency Carter referenced played a role.

The Cougars added to the lead about four minutes into the second half. This time junior Charlotte Adams drilled a perfect shot from deep on the right side, 30 yards or so, that sailed with perfect timing just out of the reach of keeper Maggie Jamison, who started the second half.

Stratford still struggled, but kept Brookstone from adding to the lead.

Finally, a break arrived with a penalty kick amid the increased physical play. Junior Campbell McIntrye was perfect to the right of the net, and the seal was broken with 12:54 left.

The Eagles found some new energy, with one shot hitting the top of the goal, and Brookstone keeper Camille Hargrove forced to make more plays.

“We still created opportunities,” Blankenship said. “We hit the crossbar down here, and the goalkeeper made a few nice saves.”

But the Cougars were able to respond to the increased pressure by Stratford’s offense, continually keeping the Eagles from any groove.

Brookstone finished with 12 shots to six for Stratford, and three saves, with nine from Eagle keepers Tessa Morehead and Jamison.

“We couldn’t put it together at the end,” Blankenship said. “In a game like this, you have to finish your opportunities.

“We couldn’t put the ball on the ground and play how we like to play. Hats off to Brookstone for their defensive efforts, and creating the chaos on that side of the ball so we couldn’t.

“We tried to do everything we could to combat it, and we just couldn’t put it together.”