Keeler's goal lifts Downingtown East girls' soccer past W.C. Henderson, 2-1
Taylor Platt thought the ball was going wide left of the net. Emma Steigerwald didn't think the shot was going to land on frame, either. She knew it had a lot of power behind it, but from her vantage point it didn't seem as if it would end up in the back of the goal.
Taylor Platt thought the ball was going wide left of the net.
Emma Steigerwald didn't think the shot was going to land on frame, either. She knew it had a lot of power behind it, but from her vantage point it didn't seem as if it would end up in the back of the goal.
As for the person who struck it, Jess Keeler, as soon as it left the foot of the Downingtown East senior, she thought it was high.
Keeler didn't hit it with the right technique, she thought, having to resort to a sort of toe poke since a defender was right on her.
The midfielder let it fly anyway. And it's a good thing she did because the shot didn't go high or wide of the net.
It hit the upper corner of the netting just inside the crossbar and gave the Cougars a come-from-behind 2-1 win over West Chester Henderson on Wednesday.
Henderson is ranked No. 8 in the Inquirer's top 10. Downingtown East is ranked No. 10.
"It was a few seconds later that I realized [it went in] because it whipped around in the net," Keeler said. "I thought I just hit the netting. It took a second, and then it was there.
"It went up, and it was perfectly placed, I guess. I wasn't expecting to score."
That was evident by the look on Keeler's face - and those of her teammates - when they realized what she had just done. Shock. Disbelief. Elation.
It had looked as if Downingtown East was going to score for the better part of the first 40 minutes to no avail.
After going down, 1-0, in the first five minutes of the second half, the Cougars (13-4-1, 11-2 Ches-Mont) responded when Platt put the ball low, in the corner past the keeper for Henderson (13-2-3, 11-1-1).
It was just four minutes after going down, and the quick equalizer gave the squad energy.
"We were just waiting for it to come," Platt said. "We knew it would."
"If it wasn't me scoring, it would have been someone else. It was coming," Keeler said, echoing the defender's feeling.
West Chester Henderson 0 1 - 1
Downingtown East 0 2 - 2
Goals: WCH-Kailee Coonan; DE-Taylor Platt, Jess Keeler
Saves: WCH-Sara Lieffrig 3; DE-Courtney Dunlop 5
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