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Cougars edge past Seminole

PLANT CITY -- Jackie Hinton had a tough night, by her standards. The Durant goalie, who entered Friday's region final against Seminole with 20 shutouts, including two in the postseason, actually allowed a goal. Compared to Hinton however, Warhawks' keeper Nikki Paquette was up against a firing squad.

It took overtime, but the Cougars' 20th shot of the night finally boosted Durant into its second state final four, 2-1. With 21 seconds left in overtime, senior Kristin Danielik took a crossing pass from Mandy Anton and punched it past Paquette for the game-winner. The Cougars (27-0-2) will face Satellite on Thursday in the state semifinals at Pepin/Rood Stadium in Tampa.

After a scoreless first half that resembled a preseason game more than a playoff game, each team got on the board within 21 seconds of each other. At the 46-minute mark, Anton gave Durant a 1-0 lead with a shot over a drawn-out Paquette. Moments later Julie Beatty tied the game on a shot that resulted in an injured right knee.

"Kelly (Gavaghan) shot it and I ran up to make sure it went in," Beatty said. "I didn't know the ball went in."

Beatty, who crashed into the left goal post jarring it out of position, did not return.

"We put some pressure on them," Seminole coach Steve Kuplicki said. "I thought we'd get some more chances. It was a case where we had to wait for an opportunity. We missed (Beatty) when she was out of the game."

Durant set the pace and dominated much of the action, despite failing to pull ahead. The Cougars had plenty of near-misses, including a second-half shot from Nicole Elswick that Seminole junior Erin Applebaum saved in front of the net.

"The game was in our favor the whole time," Durant coach Dick Sheffield said. "We just fell asleep for 30 seconds on defense."

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