Div. 5 girls soccer: Last-second goal sinks Franklin Tech in state tourney loss to Upper Cape Cod (PHOTOS)

TURNERS FALLS — It looked like overtime was on the horizon between the Franklin Tech and Upper Cape Cod girls soccer teams on Friday in the MIAA Div. 5 preliminary round. 

The contest between the 32nd-seeded Eagles and 33rd-seeded Rams was evenly-played throughout.

Upper Cape Cod opened the scoring four minutes into the second half, but as has been the case all season, Franklin Tech turned it up a notch once it fell behind. The Eagles controlled play for that point on, ultimately equalizing with 13 minutes to go. 

In the final minute of regulation however, the Rams flipped the switch. Upper Cape Cod got the ball up to Alaina Hines, who dribbled in and blasted a shot that deflected off the crossbar.

The rebound kicked right to Jessie Girouard on the opposite side of the goal, and she was able to tap it into the net with just 15 seconds to play in regulation, lifting the Rams into the Round of 32 with a 2-1 victory.

Upper Cape Cod advanced to play top-seeded Whitinsville Christian (16-2) in the Round of 16 on Monday.

“Obviously it’s disappointing to give up a goal with 15 seconds remaining,” Franklin Tech coach Jason Butynski said. “We have struggled when we’re tied or leading in big games against good opponents. It’s been an Achilles’ heel of ours. We play really well when we’re behind and we’ve had several comebacks. For whatever reason falling behind has been an issue for us all season. We talk about it, the kids are aware of it, but for whatever reason we couldn’t get past it today.” 

It was a scoreless first half, with both teams generating chances on goal in the opening 40 minutes. 

The Eagles (10-6-3) went through stretches where they put pressure on the Upper Cape Cod backline while the Rams (11-5-2) had a golden chance to score late in the half if it weren’t for Franklin Tech goalie Kylee Gamache. 

Hines weaved her way through the Eagles defense and sent a pass to Kai’ana Perez on the opposite side of the goal. Gamache, who started on the left side of her goal, made a sprint to the right side once the pass was made, extended out with a dive and got her hands on it to deflect the ball out of bounds and save the goal. 

Hines, who posed problems throughout the game, created a turnover and made Tech pay for it to open the second half. Hines got the ball outside the box, dribbled in and rocketed the shot into goal to give the Rams a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute.

It was all Eagles from there. Kyra Goodell looked like she had the equalizer in the 60th minute but her shot dinged off the post. After peppering the Upper Cape Cod goal for nearly 20 minutes, Franklin Tech got one to the back of the net. 

Senior Anne Kolodziej drove in and sent a pass out to her twin sister, Ella Kolodziej. Ella Koloziej took a dribble in and put a shot on goal that slipped through the arms of Rams goalie Keira Hibbert to knot the game up in the 67th minute. 

“We’ll miss Ella and Anne a lot,” Butynski said. “They’re playmakers. I’m glad Ella scored from Anne today.”

Despite the loss, Butynski noted how impressed he was with his team all season long and their battle to reach the postseason. 

“I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished this year,” Butynski said. “My seniors, Anne and Ella specifically, when they were freshmen they didn’t win a game. We’ve progressed each season. We ended up with 10 wins, got a home game in the tournament which is special for us and our school. These girls have been giving me everything they have since August.”