Region 1-4A girls: Pace squeaks past host Mosley

PANAMA CITY — With each team’s leading scorer sidelined from a knee injury, it wasn’t difficult to envision a 1-0 outcome Tuesday night in the Region 1-4A quarterfinal at Tommy Oliver Stadium.

The only question was how long it would take host Mosley or visiting Pace to score that goal. The answer was 75 minutes.

Lana Chechak curled an indirect kick into the left corner of the net from the top of the penalty box as Pace advanced to a region semifinal game against Niceville on Friday. Mosley ended 15-5-0.

The Dolphin’s Emily Vogler joined the Patriots’ Rylee Hart as spectators for Tuesday’s elimination. Outstanding chances to dent Mosley keeper Emily Grammer and Pace counterpart Katelyn Burkhart were kept to a handful in a highly competitive match.

The Patriots (18-4-0) finally broke through when a foul gave Chechak a chance to settle the outcome.

“I set up and I looked to curve it in,” said Chechak, a senior. “That way it would curve right. We knew they’d be a tough team.”

Grammer moved to her right when Chechak’s 18-yard kick floated over the wall the Dolphins had set up. But Grammer’s dive was unable to prevent the perfectly placed ball from finding the net.

The Dolphins had one final chance to force overtime and again Grammer was a key figure. When freshmen Elizabeth Vickers forced the action Mosley earned a corner kick in the waning seconds. Grammer, one of the tallest members of her team, came out of her goal to take part in freshman Rachel Bates’ corner.

Bates’ ball also was well placed, and Grammer went high to get a solid header. It slid harmlessly wide of the far side, however, and by the time the ball was cleared one final time to midfield the match was over.

“Any time they have a free kick from the top of the penalty box you’re in trouble,” Mosley coach Marek Betkowski said. “I expected a 50-50 game and it was very competitive.

“I thought they (Dolphins) played great. I can’t complain. Everything I asked them to do they did.”

The statistics revealed the evenness of competition, Pace getting off 22 shots to 21 for Mosley, but the Dolphins putting 12 on goal compared to nine for the Patriots. Mosley also had an eight-four edge in corner kicks.

Overtime was a distinct possibility, especially after each team withstood an outstanding scoring chance midway through the second half. For Pace, it came off Chechak’s corner in the 63rd minute when the ball passed through the crease. Mosley senior defender Stephanie Henson blocked one shot and shielded another before Grammer recovered to glove a shot by Eleana Colvin.

Within a minute Mosley threatened on the other end of the field. This time Vickers broke in free against  Burkhart, the sophomore charging off the line to smother Vickers’ attempt.

The ball caromed free, and Burkhart was able to collar a weak rebound.

• Pace 0 1 — 1
• Mosley 0 0 — 0
• Scoring — First half: none. Second half: Pace, Lana Chechak, 75th minute. Shots: Pace 11-11-22, Mosley 11-10-21. Shots on goal: Pace 3-6-9, Mosley 6-6-12. Corner kicks: Pace 3-1-4, Mosley 4-4-8. Saves: Pace 6-6-12 (Katelyn Burkhart), Mosley 3-5-8 (Emily Grammer). Yellow cards: Mosley (Ellie Buttram).