Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com
OKLAHOMA CITY – By her own admission, Maci Attalla played a sloppy first half in goal Tuesday night at Bishop McGuinness, but it didn’t last.
By game’s end, Piedmont was a 1-0 winner in penalty kicks in a clash between two of Class 5A’s best teams, and Attalla was the hero behind it all.
The junior keeper made a pair of critical plays in the second half of regulation then stopped three of four shots in penalty kicks while Piedmont connected on all three of its tries to collect a significant early season victory over one of 5A’s preeminent powers.
“That’s just Maci in a nutshell,” head coach Brad Brucker said. “When the lights are at their brightest, she’s at her best.”
Attalla’s shaky start, which included some misplays and a lack of communication, Brucker said, turned solid midway through the second half when she found herself one-on-one with McGuinness star freshman Sam Guzman.
Attalla came out from goal to meet Guzman near the center of the box and deflected away the best scoring chance of the game for either side.
“I knew the game was on the line and I had to figure something out,” Attalla said. “I wasn’t good in those situations last year, so I’ve been practicing a lot on those.”
Attalla was tested again with seven minutes to play when a shot on goal threatened to sail over her for a likely game-winner. She was up to the challenge again, tipping the shot over the goal to keep the game scoreless.
In PK’s, Attalla got a break when McGuinness’ first shot glanced off the post, giving Piedmont a chance to grab an early edge. The Lady ‘Cats took advantage of the opening.
Lenzie Stephenson connected on Piedmont’s first penalty kick with Sophia Rodriguez and Aspen Cope following with successful tries.
“I had confidence in my girls that they would score and they did,” Attalla said.
Attalla stopped the next two shots cleanly to cap her second-half turnaround, which Brucker said almost didn’t happen.
“We considered pulling her at half,” he admitted.
Afterwards, Brucker was glad he stuck with Attalla.
“She rose to the occasion,” Brucker said. “I could not be more proud of her.”
The win boosted Piedmont’s record on the year to 6-1 and exacted some measure of revenge for a five-goal defeat to McGuinness in the 5A quarterfinals last season. The confidence boost it provides this season could be much more meaningful.
As non-district, regular season victories go, they don’t come much bigger than this one, Brucker said.
“It was a tough, gritty win and it was really big for us,” he said. “Now we know we can win like that. I couldn’t be more proud of how they reacted in the face of adversity tonight.”
