Brighton manages tie with Jordan

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS— Brighton senior goalkeeper Lindsay Foote attended Jordan during her freshman and sophomore years. So when the two teams squared off against one another Tuesday afternoon, she had a little extra motivation.

"You could tell even in warm-ups that this meant a little more to her," said Brighton coach Amber Johnson. "She really wanted to win this one."

Foote could not lead her team to a victory over her old school, but she did make several key saves late in the game to preserve a 1-1 tie for the Bengals and achieve a degree of success against their Region 2 rivals.

The Beetdiggers controlled the opening minutes of the first half. According to coach Jesus Goyzueta, the team tries to employ a passing, movement-based scheme in all its games. In the opening 15 minutes, Jordan used that style to dictate the tempo and style of play.

Whether it was the Bengals that frustrated the 'Diggers, or just a breakdown on their part, the team went away from its "bread and butter."

"We stopped passing the ball," said Goyzueta. "We lost our patience and starting playing too much 'boom ball' or long balls. We were trying to go directly from defense to the attack by just hitting the ball long."

The long-ball attack was not working well for either team, but Jordan was able to capitalize when it maintained some possession. Jessie Rossi appeared to be one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the game. Every time she got the ball she was able to hold off the defense with some fancy footwork and create passing lanes and offensive opportunities.

In the 26th minute, Rossi took the ball to the end line where she beat two Bengal defenders before hitting a perfect ball across the middle. The pass went directly to the feet of Lacey Christenson, who tapped the ball into the empty net.

For the next half, it appeared that Christenson's goal may be the only tally, but in the last few minutes of the game, Brighton tried some moves that ended up paying off. Laura Baggaley is one of the Bengals' core defenders, but with the team desperate for an equalizer, she was moved up front.

"She is kind of our secret weapon," said Johnson. "We needed some offense quickly, and she gave it to us."

Baggaley tied the game in the 72nd minute when she headed the ball into the corner of the net after a deflected shot came her way. It was the only score of the second half, and the two teams went to overtime.