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McLean’s varsity girls soccer team battled South Lakes to a 3-3 overtime tie on Monday, April 14, capping an emotional senior night with six goals and a tense finish.

Before kickoff, the Highlanders honored senior goalkeepers Aimee Abraham and Lauren Mechem, defenders Róisín Patton, Zoe Adams-Christian and Sydney Maitland, and forwards Ashley O’Sullivan and Jasmin Guerrero.

“It gave me a lot of confidence to go out on the field when the stands were packed and everyone was filled with energy,” O’Sullivan said.

South Lakes controlled the ball in McLean’s defensive end during the opening minutes, but the Highlanders settled into the match and began creating chances of their own.

Freshman forward Naomi Plerhoples broke through first. Junior Charlotte Holbrook worked around South Lakes defenders and delivered the ball to Plerhoples, who finished past the goalkeeper into the bottom-right corner.

South Lakes quickly answered with a goal from a free kick, sending the teams into halftime tied 1-1.

The back-and-forth scoring continued after the break. Holbrook put McLean ahead 2-1 with an assist from Plerhoples, but the Seahawks responded by beating Mechem to level the match again.

Freshman midfielder Emma Peterson restored McLean’s lead by converting a penalty kick. South Lakes then scored its third goal on a play that McLean spectators believed may have been offside, tying the game 3-3.

Neither team found a winner during the remainder of regulation. Both sides maintained their attacking pressure in overtime, but the goalkeepers stopped every late opportunity and preserved the draw.

“We were able to keep up the energy going into overtime because we wanted to fight hard for a win for our seniors,” sophomore forward Amalia Torpy said.

McLean will now turn its attention to the rest of the season, using practice drills and scrimmages to sharpen an offense that head coach Austin Vassallo believes has significant potential.

“I think that we’ve come together as a team really nicely and we’re working really well together passing the ball around,” Vassallo said. “I think this is one of the better offenses I’ve seen us have since I started coaching, so I’m very excited for what’s to come.”