Dolphins squeak by Skyhawks for title
SCISA Class 3A Girls Soccer State Championship • May 10, 2008
By George Kaupp

Hammond's Perry Shockley converts on the penalty kick while Sarah Specter (hands on face) watches anxiously.

Alexandra Fuller scored on a free kick late in the match, propelling Hilton Head Prep to a 2- 1 victory over Hammond in the SCISA 3A girls soccer final on Saturday, May 10 at Heathwood Hall in Columbia.

The game was played mostly in Hammond's end in the first half, as the Skyhawks seemed content to play defense and to frustrate the Dolphins' vaunted offense. The only score of the first half came in the 24th minute on a somewhat questionable handball call in the box on Hammond. Catherine Callaway converted the penalty kick, giving the Dolphins a 1- 0 lead.

The Dolphins pressured the Skyhawks the rest of the half, but the Hammond defense, led by sweeper Sarah Pricket and keeper Ella Hyatt, kept the ball out of the net.

In the second half, the game got a little rougher, as the referees allowed the teams to decide most of their fate on the field. However, in the 50th minute, a jumping- in foul on the Dolphins in the box led to Hammond getting their own penalty kick, which Perry Shockley converted to tie the score at 1- 1.

Photos by David Martin Hammond's Ali hymson goes for the header.

In the 59th minute, the referee warned both coaches about the roughness of play escalating, and even warned both stands about verbal abuse of the players and the referees and linesmen.

In the 62nd minute, Hilton Head got what looked to be their best shot to go ahead, but Hyatt stepped up and made not one, but two great saves in a row. The first was on a breakaway by Fuller, where Hyatt stuck her foot out and knocked the ball out for a throw- in. On the subsequent throw- in, a Dolphin midfielder deflected the ball toward the net, and Hyatt had to reach almost directly behind herself to stop the ball.

Finally, in the 71st minute, Hammond was called for a foul while tackling the ball. Fuller lined up the kick from about 28 yards and curled her shot around the wall, the ball barely eluding Hyatt's reach into the upper right portion of the net.

Hammond got one last, good shot at the goal in stoppage time, but Ali Hymson's shot from the right wing went across the goal mouth and out. When the whistle blew, Hilton Head Prep celebrated their third consecutive state championship.

Hammond goalkeeper Ella Hyatt goes high to block a Hilton Head Prep shot.