Tie suits Sterling and Dixon fine

Philip Marruffo/SVN Dixon's Kayla Heller heads the ball as Sterling's Marcela Cantu defends Tuesday in Sterling.

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STERLING - Krystle Fields juked left, then feigned right.

The Sterling goalie, usually protected by waves of defenders, was all alone and trying to figure out which way a pair of Dixon players would be firing penalty kicks.

Twice in the final 15 minutes, Fields faced this challenge. Twice she came up big, allowing the Golden Warriors to preserve a 1-1 tie with the Duchesses on Tuesday afternoon.

"I was taught before to watch the plant foot and then the follow-through foot," Fields explained. "There was a lot of luck involved, and probably a little bit of skill - a lot more luck than skill."

With 14 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the second half, a Sterling player was called for a hand ball in the goalie box, resulting in the first penalty kick.

Dixon's Ali Messina got the call, and uncorked a low shot toward the left corner. Fields dived and deflected the ball off the post. The deflection went straight to Messina, who had an open shot but was again stuffed by Fields.

Less than four minutes later, Dixon's Amy Hoyle was tripped in the goalie box, resulting in another penalty kick. The Duchesses' Shannon Wiese originally got the call to attempt the kick, but she was replaced by Vanessa Monk.

Monk's kick went right at Fields, who fended off the attempt with both fists.

"That was amazing," Sterling coach Korina Austin said of the penalty kick saves. "Goalkeepers rarely stop a PK, so that was awesome. I'm very proud of her. She takes the cup this game."

Penalty kicks are a regular part of Dixon's practice schedule, according to coach Mahmoud Etemadi.

"At the end of practice, we have a competition," he said, "but taking a penalty kick during practice is different from when you take it during a game because of stress level. I thought their goalie reacted very well.

"They put the ball where it should be, especially Ali Messina, but their goalie reacted very well."

Dixon (3-6-1) possessed the ball the majority of the match. With 14:33 remaining in the first half, Messina scored on a direct kick that was lofted over a line of Sterling players and past Fields, whose view was blocked.

There were a lot of close calls for Dixon after that, but none found the net.

"Sometimes it happens in soccer - the balls just don't go in," Etemadi said. "We talked during halftime, and I thought our intensity level was higher. I was very happy with how they played. The only problem was they could not finish."

Sterling (2-6-2) tied the score 1-1 on a goal from Allie Lancaster with 2:39 left before halftime. Myah Johnson assisted.

Sterling's Mallory Klein had a pair of golden scoring opportunities earlier in the first half, but was unable to convert.

"We've been really working hard on stringing our passes together," Austin said. "Today, we showed that."

"I give a lot of credit to the Sterling team," Etemadi said. "They have done a great job this year. They have improved significantly from the past few years."

Had this been a conference game, it would have gone into overtime. The NCIC matchup between the Golden Warriors and Duchesses is scheduled for May 3 in Dixon.

n Dixon won the fresh-soph game 3-0. Carly Capesius had two goals and Karen Lee added one.