PLANO:  The Varsity Girls Soccer team celebrated its three members of the Class of 2022 on Thursday night prior to its match with Ursuline Academy.  Seniors Lauren Dull, Veronica James, and Maggie SymSmith were recognized in a small ceremony on the home sideline, as the John Paul II faithful cheered on the three Lady Cards in their final regular season home game.  JPII and Ursuline needed a penalty shootout to decide the winner of their last game back on January 17th, a match where the Bears won at home 2-1 after the two teams remained even at one apiece after eighty minutes of regulation and an additional ten minutes of extra time.  

Much like their first meeting, the Lady Cardinals and Bears traded haymakers throughout the game, with chances galore for both clubs.  Three and a half minutes in, JPII struck first the first blow.  With possession deep in the Bears' end, Avery Bonilla won a throw in near the left flag and found Lillian Penrod unmarked.  Penrod sent a low cross towards the front of the net, and senior captain Maggie SymSmith timed her run magnificently, weaving through a trio of Ursuline defenders to knock it home.  John Paul II held the lead until the 22 minute mark, when the Bears sent high blooper into the box.  Junior goaltender Mallory Murphy attempted to punch it out away got a piece of it, but the rebound fell right into the lap of an Ursuline forward who headed it in to level the score.  

The score remained tied by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.  Seven minutes into the second half, the Bears capitalized on chaos in the box.  There was a mad scramble by both teams for a loose ball near the post, and Ursuline sent a shot across the front of the net but the clearance attempt by JPII was deflected in for an own goal.  Undaunted by the 2-1 deficit they now faced, the Lady Cards responded in a big way.  Just five minutes later, JPII won another throw in along the left sideline and Kaitlyn McIntyre fed the ball to Penrod.   After receiving the throw, Penrod deked out the Bears' defense with a shifty little give-and-go with Aubrey Ramage, and then ripped off the goal of the season, guiding a missile of a shot past the Ursuline keeper and into the top right corner for the equalizer.  

The two sides would go scoreless the rest of the way, but not for a lack of effort.  Penrod nearly ended it late in the half with a shot that looked like it bent the crossbar, and the Bears stepped up their physicality, punishing the Lady Cards.  Eventually the clock ran out and after neither side was able to find a goal in ten minutes of extra time, it was on to penalty kicks.  After a brief technical delay, both netminders made the long walk to the north goal for the start of the shootout.  Mallory Murphy made three big league saves to keep JPII alive, while Gabby Tucci, Erin Dull, and Ally Tucci all netted goals.  Ultimately, the Bears found one more score to upset the Lady Cardinals at home 2(4)-2(3) in penalty kicks.  

Despite the loss, John Paul II (7-4-3, 5-2) remains in a good position with just one district fixture remaining.  The Lady Cards head to Bishop Lynch on Monday next week with plenty of confidence, having already been the Friars 4-0 earlier this season, where they'll battle for the #2 seed in TAPPS D1-2.