Penalty kick pushes Rock Bridge past Hickman in overtime

COLUMBIA — The Rock Bridge girls soccer team defeated rival Hickman 1-0 with a successful penalty kick near the end of the second overtime period Monday night at Hickman. Bruins junior Kayla Hauck scored her first goal of the season with the kick with less than two minutes left before the game would need to be decided by a shootout. 

The game remained scoreless throughout 80 minutes of regulation and about 18 minutes of overtime play, but not from a lack of offensive effort. Rock Bridge’s Carrie Levy and Hickman’s Monica Ross were never closer than 80 yards from one another, yet the two goaltenders played significant roles.

With less than one minute remaining in regulation, Bruins junior Morgan Pitchford made a corner kick to teammate Kayla Hauck. In a sea of white and green bodies, Hauck nailed a short kick toward the goal, but Ross deflected it up into the right goal post. Before it hit the ground, Ross secured it and ended the threat by throwing the ball down field.

“We were scrapping around to try and get it in,” Hauck said. “It was a great opportunity, but the keeper got a good save on that.”

Hickman also found scoring opportunities but were continually shut down by Levy’s quick hands.

With exhaustion setting near the end of double overtime, Hickman committed a foul inside its penalty box.

When Hauck positioned herself for the Rock Bridge penalty kick, she once again found herself in position to win the game.

“It was a lot of pressure, but I felt pretty confident,” Hauck said. “I just wanted to put the game away.”