NORMAN — In all things, prep soccer included, there is the big picture and there is what just happened. What just happened where it concerns Norman High girls soccer is this:
Locked in a stalemate of a game with Moore Tuesday night at the NHS Soccer Complex, the Tigers finally got past the Lions when Shelby Teel, in double overtime, crossed from right to left and Brandi Shuffield finished from point-blank range, finally giving the home team its 1-0 victory.
With 5 minutes remaining in regulation, Teel crossed and found Ally Renfroe, also at point-blank range, but Lion keeper Kenady Maynard, who kept Moore in the game all night, made the best of her 13 saves.
“I just looked up and Brandi was right there,” Teel said of the finisher. “I thought it was a matter of time.”
Maybe so, but had an additional 8:20 elapsed, NHS would have been out of time and trapped in a shootout.
“I was wide open,” Shuffield said. “I just saw her cross it and I knew would, hopefully, put it in.”
The win moved the seventh-ranked Tigers to 8-2 on the season and 3-1 in District 6A-1. Moore fell to 4-6 and 1-3.
On paper, it looked like the Tigers’ game all the way. As it turned out, it was only the Tigers’ game after Shuffield found the net in the 92nd minute.
“They did everything we’ve been working on, everything we’ve talked about,” NHS coach Bob Byers said. “But from 25 yards from the goal and in, we weren’t very sharp.”
Then there’s the big picture, some of which was on display against the Lions, too.
Defense
It’s always Byers’ first concern and typically it takes time for it come together. This season, it took less time.
Moore had opportunities Tuesday, but NHS keeper Jordan Taylor still only had to make three saves to pitch her fifth shutout of the season.
And with the defense settled, the Tigers have been in position to spend more time on putting the ball in the net. That didn’t really happen against the Lions, but it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. The Tigers finished with 20 shots, 13 of which were stopped by Maynard, a couple of which she had no business stopping.
No matter how you slice it, NHS’ apparent resurgence after going two seasons — the only two season in program history — without advancing to Class 6A’s final four, begins with Taylor in goal and the line of defenders — Lauren Mullins, Chandler Murphy, Katie Koonce, Ellen Jones — in front of her.
“That part [defense] gelled earlier than I thought,” Byers said.
Alignment
The defense doesn’t end with the back line and Taylor, it only begins there. Byers is going with a lineup that includes just one starting forward in Mackenzie Burkhart.
That means NHS is lining up five across the midfield. Renfroe, a sophomore, is an anchor, and the two outside spots — Shuffield and Teel are the starters — act more like forward spots when the Tigers are on the attack.
When they’re not, it’s a lot of traffic to weave through on the way to the Tiger net.
“It’s designed so that it can absorb a lot of pressure,” Byers said.
Intangible
But if the Tigers make it all the way back to the state championship game, or even within a game of it, it might come down to chemistry. Byers doesn’t think it was a weakness on previous squads, but it wasn’t a strength like this season.
“It hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t been like this when you just have kids willing to do anything for each other,” he said.
There’s still no substitute for putting the ball in the back of the net. Tuesday night proved that. But when you’re playing for each other, it sure doesn’t hurt.
“We knew we had that last 10 minutes,” Shuffield said of the double overtime period. “Everybody just stepped up. Everybody really wanted it.”
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
