COLUMBUS, Ga. — Earlier this season, Columbus High School girls’ soccer coach Russell Oliver asked freshman defender Lane Burbrink to take a penalty kick in a tie match. Burbrink said no.
Saturday, in a Georgia Class AAA state quarterfinal at Columbus State University, Oliver went to Burbrink again, and this time she came through. She made the deciding PK as the Lady Blue Devils edged Heritage 5-4 in a post-overtime shootout.
Neither team was able to score during the 80 minutes of regulation and two five-minute overtime periods.
Burbrink’s winner came after Columbus sophomore goalkeeper Anna Scogin made her second save of the shootout. She had five saves in the Lady Blue Devils’ 11th shutout of the season.
“I’m just glad [Oliver] had enough confidence in me to ask me to take the kick,” said Burbrink, who helped Columbus (17-4) advance to the state semifinals for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. “Right when [Scogin] made that save, it immediately gave me confidence.
“When I walked up to take the kick, I was praying and thinking about all kinds of things, like Anna making that save and praying that I make the goal.”
Oliver said he has as much confidence in Burbrink as in anybody on his roster.
“[The sixth shooter] is the most important slot, because if you’re in the first five, you have somebody behind you who can pick you up,” Oliver said. “Lane’s a great player. I don’t really think she knows how good she can be, and me putting her in that sixth slot is my way of showing confidence in her. For her to step up and win this match for us is huge.”
Heritage’s Katelyn Beekman and Madison See of Columbus both converted opening PKs in the shootout, but Scogin then denied the Lady Generals’ Blair Harden and Ivey Burbrink converted. Courtney Bell then made her kick for Heritage and Amber Burton stopped Mallory Lotz for a 2-2 tie.
Shelby Mullinax and Kansas Carpenter scored for Heritage and Abby Roth and Kyla Wright countered for Columbus, sending the shootout to sudden-death mode.
Cassidy Bell stepped to the spot for Heritage and shot with her left foot, but Scogin made the save that set up Lane Burbrink’s match-winner.
“When you face a person taking a penalty kick, you just have to have a blank mind,” Scogin said. “You can’t overthink things. I just try to sort of stare them down and look at their eyes to see which way they might go, but it’s a lot about guessing, too. You have to just react and try to make the stop.”
Said Oliver: “If a goalie can stop one penalty kick in a shootout, it’s a huge motivational boost to the players. To get two saves is just almost beyond words. It was just huge for her to do that, like all-state caliber.”
The first 90 minutes of the match was played mostly in the visitors’ end, as Columbus outshot the Lady Generals 18-7, but Heritage (13-2) kept counterattacking when it had the chance and kept the Lady Blue Devils on their toes the whole way.
“Heritage was a good team,” Oliver said. “I wasn’t sure how they were going to come out, but they have a lot of speed and skill. Heritage has a lot of speed and made us take a lot of shots that were off-balance.”
Heritage coach Stacy Dunfee, whose team will lose just one senior and whose school is in just its fourth year of existence, predicted her program will be a force for years to come.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Dunfee said. “I think Columbus looked past us, and I told my team to go out there and leave everything on the field. My kids left it all out there. They’re upset now, but this the furthest we’ve ever been in the playoffs and we’ll be back next year.”
Contact Joseph Myers at sports@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.