WEST PALM BEACH — After more than 93 minutes of tough, physical playoff soccer, Lola Cannova made sure Cardinal Newman High’s girls team would live to play another day.
Cannova struck a 12-yard shot from the left side that found the upper right corner of the net in the second overtime and the Crusaders held on to defeat Lincoln Park Academy 3-2 in the first round of the District 11-3A soccer tournament Wednesday night.
“Lola has not been the scoring beast that she was last year, but that was a wonderful goal,” Cardinal Newman coach Bill Stepanovsky said. “That was the old Lola.”
Cannova’s goal sent the fourth-seeded Crusaders (9-4-1) into the semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Benjamin (14-0) on Monday night. The fifth-seeded Greyhounds finished 12-5 and are unlikely to earn a wild-card berth in the regionals.
“That goal was just a special moment,” said Cannova, a junior striker. “Sophia (Webber), our midfielder, kicked it, I headed it and it went past the defender. I ran and I took the goalie on and I scored. I knew it was going in.”