Mounds View junior defender Amelia Gregory doesn't score goals. Not really in the job description.
She didn't have a goal in three years of varsity soccer. She doesn't have a conscience, either.
"I feel like I can stay calm in a game when it comes to pressure," Gregory said.
Never was there a more tense moment than penalty kicks in overtime Tuesday to decide the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinal against top-seeded and undefeated Wayzata. And Gregory delivered. Her shootout goal decided a 3-2 upset victory at Kuhlman Stadium in Edina.
Mounds View (14-4-1), ranked No. 10 in the final coaches poll, could have trailed by a couple of goals early. But goalkeeper Lauren McAlpine stopped a penalty kick and moments later a point-blank shot. The Mustangs led 1-0 at halftime on Yasmeen Abed's goal. But Wayzata (17-1-1) battled back to take a 2-1 advantage on goals from Amya Conway and Lily Nayar.
"We did enough in regulation to win the game," Trojans coach Tony Pesznecker said. "But once you go to a shootout, you're throwing darts at the big dart board."
Neither team scored on their first four attempts in the overtime shootout. Then Celine Klum put Mounds View ahead until the next shooter, Wayzata's El Novak, drew her team even.
Gregory, the Mustangs' sixth shooter, hit the bull's-eye with her dart.
