High school soccer: Woods Cross takes advantage of Highland miscue on Wildcat win

WOODS CROSS — The Highland Rams really only gave Woods Cross star forward Nikki Fernandes one good look at the net on Tuesday night.

And it was one too many.

Fernandes scored a golden goal to give the Wildcats a 2-1 overtime win over the Rams in a first round 4A playoff game. Fernandes actually started to backpedal on the play in which she sent Woods Cross into the quarterfinals before displaying her ridiculous ball-handling and shooting skills.

Fernandes took a couple of steps backwards after what seemed to be a wasted Woods Cross scoring opportunity in the seventh minute of overtime. But she saw an opportunity, got a touch on an attempted Highland pass, took control of the ball near the right corner, juked a defender, and then fired a shot into the back of the net to give the Wildcats the victory.

"I figured time was running out and I had to get there somehow, and I did," Fernandes said. "I got a touch on it and scored it."

She makes it sound routine, but it was a spectacular play. The Rams built their game plan around trying to slow Fernandes, and it worked for 86 minutes.

"She can beat two or three girls," said Woods Cross coach Kevin Rigby. "They had a girl hanging on her — literally hanging on her — all night. If you let Nikki loose once, she'll hurt you. It was very fitting for her to get the game-winner because she was their major concern all game. In spite of all their efforts, she was able to prevail."

The Wildcats displayed some character after falling behind on a bizarre goal that occurred just 15 seconds into the contest. Woods Cross keeper Taylor 'Bama' Bolding attempted to clear the ball, but it ricocheted off of a charging Ali Siegendorf and into the back of the net to give Highland an early 1-0 lead.

"You have no idea how hard it is to come back after falling behind like that," Bolding said. "It was a miscommunication between me and my defender. But we came back and that's all that matters."

Rigby said he had never had a goal like Siegendorf's scored on him before Tuesday. He had only actually seen one scored like it in all of his years of being involved with soccer.

"That was incredible bad luck," Rigby said. "I wondered what I had done to deserve that. We dug ourselves an incredible pit 15 seconds into the game."