Published May 18, 2008
The Charlotte Observer
By Javier Serna
(Raleigh) News & Observer
GREENSBORO -- It might have been inevitable that one of McCallie Jones' forward-flip inbound passes would find its way to the back of the net, from a purely numbers standpoint.
When one finally did, it gave Charlotte Latin the momentum to go on and beat Durham Academy 3-2 for the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A girls soccer title held at Greensboro Day.
Durham Academy scored first, with about six minutes left in the first half when Martha Glenn got a pass behind Latin goalie Kristin Horton with Mollie Pathman there to guide it in.
"All I needed was a little touch on it," said Pathman. "It was a race between me and the defender."
But Durham Academy suffered a blow when its top defender, Collin Burks, was given a red card on a play near the end of the half.
Horton was given the penalty opportunity and her goal tied the game at 1-1.
The Cavaliers took the lead back early in the second half when Erin O'Connor scored.
But it was only a matter of time until one of Jones' forward-flip passes would score for Latin. The somersaulting Jones picked up the move after watching the flip-throw specialist Ashley Swinehart, from the Charlotte Lady Eagles of the USL's W-League.
With about 26 minutes left in the game, one of Jones' flip-throws finally found net when McKay Kirkland headed one in to tie the game at 2-2.
Kirkland paid the favor back to Jones to score the game-winning goal 10 minutes later, placing a nice pass in front of the net for Jones to get past Kearney.
To read the article online, go to www.charlotteobserver.com.