Columbus advances to state final with dramatic PK win over Starr’s Mill

When Caroline Spurlin connected on a penalty kick on Wednesday at Kinnett Stadium, the third make out of four for Columbus to try and break a tie game that couldn’t be settled in regulation or 10 minutes of overtime, the Lady Blue Devils thought they had accomplished what so many doubted they could:

Beat defending state champion and current No. 1 team Starr’s Mill in the Class 5A semifinals. The girls rushed the goal, mugged Spurlin and celebrated as if the game was over. The only problem was that Starr’s Mill had one more chance.

It didn’t make a difference.

Columbus keeper Sam Munyon, who had given up a couple of goals in the second half and allowed Starr’s Mill to connect on the first PK attempt, saved the next two and watched as the fourth caromed off the cross bar to give the Lady Blue Devils the victory, 2-2 (3-1 in PKs).

The win sends Columbus to its second state championship game in four years. It lost to Marist in 2013, but coach Rusty Oliver thinks the rest of the state is starting to get the message.

“We’re a blip on the map,” he said. “‘Who is this team from outside the metro area that keeps messing up our plans to get a state championship?’ We’re back there again.”

To get there, Columbus had to do what very few teams have ever done: Come from behind in the final 10 minutes against one of the state’s top programs. Oliver said after the game that you could probably count on one hand the number of teams that have ever done that against the Lady Panthers. The Lady Blue Devils added their name to the list on Wednesday.

Trailing 2-1 with under seven minutes to play, Oliver moved Gigi Schorr up to try to give her an opportunity for a late score. She had suffered two near misses early in the game, both shots hitting off of the crossbar and preventing Columbus from taking a dominating lead early.

She didn’t miss this time, though.

She took a pass from Kimberly May, beat a defender and went one-on-one with the keeper, beating her for the equalizer with 6:38 left on the clock.

“It was awesome just to get another opportunity to score and not have to worry about the first ones,” Schorr said.

“We gave her a challenge: Score, get this game tied up and drop back and play defense,” Oliver said. “She did exactly that.”

Columbus had gotten an early goal from Spurlin to take a 1-0 lead and actually led the game going into intermission. Starr’s Mill began to impose its will on offense in the second, however, putting a ton of pressure on the Columbus defense and, in particular, the keeper. Munyon made just a couple mistakes all game, but they cost her as Starr’s Mill got goals from Riley Clark and Leslie Logan. The second came inside of 15 minutes, a goal that normally would have been decisive.

Instead, Schorr scored to force extra time, and Munyon redeemed herself with a couple of big saves in PKs.

“It was scary. I didn’t think I could do it,” Munyon said, but noted that she had a good idea of where the kicks would go based on how the player approached the ball.

Oliver credited Munyon and assistant coach Madison Seay for the work scouting and executing in that situation.

“She did phenomenal,” Oliver said. “It’s always so much pressure on kickers to stop it. I give so much credit to our assistant coach Madison See. She did a great job scouting. Sam did what she was supposed to do, like she was coached to do. I’ve told them from day one that if they do what they’re supposed to do and play to their ability, they’ll be playing for a state championship.”

That’s where they’ll be on Saturday, when they play McIntosh at Mercer. McIntosh is also out of the talented Region 4-5A pool that produced three semifinalists this season. The fourth playoff team out of the region, Union Grove, challenged Columbus in the first round of these playoffs. The Lady Blue Devils are the only team to have been successful against a Region 4 team in this postseason.

Columbus thinks they can do one more.

“It means the world to me,” Munyon said of making the championship game. “It’s amazing. I can’t wait to win.”

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Columbus advances to state final with dramatic PK win over Starr’s Mill."