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New Bern’s Alisia Gustafson fights past a defender before scoring the lone goal of the first half in Thursday’s first-round double-overtime playoff loss.
Liz Bowles/Sun Journal
New Bern falls in double OT of second-round state playoff game
It was late in the second overtime, and the New Bern girls soccer team stood tied with Broughton.
With 59 seconds showing on the clock, while the New Bern defense scrambled, Broughton's Casey Kilburn fired a ball from close range past the outstretched arms of New Bern goalkeeper Berit Hansen.
The Bears' successful season - one in which they remained undefeated in the Coastal Conference for the 14th consecutive season - was officially complete.
New Bern battled No. 4-ranked Broughton until the very end Thursday at New Bern High School. Unfortunately for the Bears, Broughton came through with a final burst in the final minute and walked away with a 2-1 victory in the second round of the Class 4-A playoffs.
"They played absolutely magnificent tonight," New Bern head coach Tim Guter said. "Whether they got on the field or didn't get on the field, everybody was into the game.
"They gave everything they had. They gave more than they had at times."
New Bern got on the scoreboard early in the first half. Just 8 minutes, 38 seconds into the game, forward Chaney Hemphill found Alisia Gustafson in front of the goal, and Gustafson drilled the back of the net, giving the Bears a 1-0 advantage.
Broughton didn't answer until the early minutes of the second half, when Barkley Minton assisted Sarah Murray for a goal in the fourth minute.
From that point until the end of regulation, the New Bern defense stood strong in front of goalkeeper Berit Hansen, who finished with seven saves in the game.
"We just kept motivating each other," senior defender Monica Golike said. "We worked really hard and I think we really did well in the back."
The Bears fought through two 10 minute halves in the first overtime, and the game still stood tied at 1. The contest was then scheduled for two sudden-death five-minute periods.
The Bears made it through the first one, and after four minutes of the second overtime, the game appeared to be headed toward a shootout.
"I was honestly thinking that we were going to go into penalty kicks," Guter said. "I thought our defense was going to be able to hold it."
However, in the flash of a second, the Bears season ended. Surrounded by players from both teams in the box, Kilburn emerged from a mad scramble with the game-winning kick.
"It was just one of those things," Guter said. "They got the bounce in the box, and they finished it off."
The loss for the Bears was clearly a hard one to take. However, the season as a whole was nothing short of success.
The Bears finished 16-3-1 overall and they capped off an impressive high school career for their six seniors - Jillian Reed, Kelsey Hansen Megan Garris, Hemphill, Gustafson and Golike.
"The six seniors we have played absolutely brilliant for four years for us," Guter said. "They have brought this program to another level. I tried to soften the blow. I didn't know what to say to them."
As the six seniors stood in a circle Tuesday night, they attempted to soak in the final moments of their high school careers.
It was sort of bittersweet. Although their season did not end in victory, they realized the final game was something to remember.
"I think we all worked hard," Reed said. "There wasn't a single player that played bad. So I feel like, in a way, this is a good way to go out - if this is how it has to happen."
Jess Huffman can be reached at (252) 635-5669 or at jhuffman@freedomenc.com.
