Mercy Miracle Goal Shocks St. Joseph In CIAC Girls Soccer Title Game
HARTFORD, CT —In a shocking, miraculous result, Mercy High School in Middletown stunned powerhouse St. Joseph High School in Trumbull 2-1 on a goal with 1 second left.
The hero of the game was Mercy sophomore Molly Benson, who banged in a shot during a last-second scramble to earn the Tigers the CIAC Class LL state girls’ soccer championship on the chilly Trinity Health Stadium turf in Hartford.
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She had scored the tying goal as well, but it was Molly’s Mercy miracle goal that had her dumbfounded after the game.
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Benson said when the ball nestled into the upper right corner of the goal at the end, she wasn’t sure it would count.
“I had no idea,” said Benson, the game’s most valuable player who was visibly stunned at what she had done. “I was just so shocked and so excited that I got it in.”
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After a brief consultation, the CIAC officials ruled the goal crossed the line with a second to spare.
The powerhouse matchup featured top-seed St. Joseph, coached by Jack Nogueira, looking to win its fourth straight title.
They were undefeated, 16-0, going into the tourney and had won the prior three championships.
Meanwhile, second-seed Mercy, led by coach Marcus Harley, was 15-0-1, with the Tigers winning two prior state titles, the last being a Class M championship in 2022.
The play was fast and furious, with St. Joseph coming in waves at the Mercy end early in the game.
With 23 minutes left in the first half, St. Joseph senior captain Alexa Pino tapped in a rebound from a shot that bounced off the Mercy goalkeeper Emily Hickey’s hands, giving the Cadets a 1-0 lead.
St. Joseph continued to pressure Mercy throughout the first half, with one shot hitting the crossbar and settling into Hickey’s hands and other shots missing the goal.
At the end of the first half, St. Joseph was up 1-0, with Mercy playing hard and staying in the contest.
Mercy came strong in the second half, getting off a point-blank shot at the net against St. Joseph’s goalkeeper, but the shot was stopped. Then Mercy senior Laney Smith led an attack into the box and just missed the goal, shooting wide to the right.
The game settled down after, with St. Joseph pushing the ball into Mercy’s side of the field, keeping Hickey busy, but failing to double their lead.
That ended up hurting St. Joseph as Mercy struck shortly thereafter.
With 29 minutes left in the game, Mercy tied the game when Benson headed in a beautiful goal off a corner kick by Smith … a rare goal given up by St. Joseph that tied the game 1-1.
The goal ignited energy in both teams, with the pace picking up as it became clear the next goal could end in a championship for either side.
Both sides had dangerous moments as the ebb and flow of the contest took the action near both goals, with Mercy threatening on set pieces and the Cadets doing so on the attack.
As the game progressed to the end of regular time, play became more and more physical as each side pushed for a winner.
Pino appeared headed to win the title for St. Joseph with less than 8 minutes to go, but her shot from a few yards out sailed over Hickey and the goalpost, keeping the score 1-1.
Then Mercy senior Kaylee Benson, Molly Benson’s sister, appeared ready to win it for the Tigers with less than four minutes left, but a one-on-one charge on St. Joseph resulted in a heavy touch negating a golden scoring opportunity.
That set the stage for Benson’s miraculous kick and a stunning victory that ended a dynasty.
Molly Benson said her squad was confident, remembering they only lost a scrimmage to St. Joseph 1-0 before the season started.
As for the wild ending, Molly Benson said she could remember hearing the public address announcer count down the seconds. Then the biggest moment in the young athlete’s life happened.
After the game, the CIAC presented her with the actual ball that she stuffed in the net.
At a loss for words, Molly Benson celebrated with her championship teammates. “It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m still in shock.”
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