UXBRIDGE – Northbridge junior Karlee Battista stood with her hands on her hips about twenty-eight yards from the Uxbridge soccer goal. She was preparing to take a free kick in an overtime game with the chance to break the one-one tie between the two South Worcester County rivals, Uxbridge (7) and Northbridge (10) on Tuesday. Both teams battled to a draw for eighty-two minutes at that point. The winner moves on to the Round of Eight in the Division 4 MIAA girls soccer tournament. 

The Uxbridge Wall. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

The fate of both teams depended on the execution of Battista’s kick. She had already scored the first goal of the game, but that seemed ages ago as she scanned the field in front of her. Her face was stoic, but underneath that calm exterior, Battista said she had “lots of nerves, definitely.” 

Battista knew her responsibility and focused on the job at hand. The ball rested about three yards in front of her toward the left side of the field. About seven yards further was the Uxbridge wall. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the top, right corner of the penalty area. They were Spartans’ defender Skylar Lovell, midfielders Olivia Gray and Julie Compston, and senior captain Cecilia Schleinitz and they were going to do all they could to block Battista’s kick.

Then Battista directed her attention toward Uxbridge senior goalkeeper Saige Frazier, who stared back.

“At that moment, my thought was to go far [right] corner,” Battista recalled. “And then I realized that when I looked at the goalie, I saw she was leaning toward the far corner. I mean she’s good. She’s a really good goalie and I wasn’t sure about going in that direction.”

With Battista’s nerves at an all-time high, just before she attempted the kick, she heard the Northbridge fans, families, and friends in attendance chanting her name.

“It’s great to have a crowd behind me just screaming my name,” she said. “I just thought I’m just gonna kick this as best as I can and hopefully it goes in the back of the net.”

Battista then kicked a low-arching shot that just cleared the leaping Compston past the wall. As the liner descended, Frazier dove toward the ball that was headed to the left-inside post of the goal. Frazier did get a piece of the ball with her fingertips, but it deflected off her fingers into the net.

Uxbridge goalkeeper Saige Frazier almost stopped the game-winner as it deflected off her fingertips into the goal. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

It was over. The Rams won, 2-1 on Battista’s “golden goal,” her fourth of the tournament. In fact, she has scored all four Rams’ goals in the playoffs, so far.

Northbridge head coach Kristen Strazzulla said defender Rachel Sawyer took most of the free kicks throughout the season, but she saw something in Battista to make the switch. “Rachel has been taking a lot of our free kicks, but Karlee, the past couple games, has really turned on her ability to finish. So, we gave her a go and the girls ran in and she just finished. It’s simple. It’s a simple game when she does it that way. Yeah, it was beautiful.” 

“I just kicked it and it went in the back of the net,” said Battista, “I’m so happy. I don’t remember the last time Northbridge made it to the playoffs, but the fact that we won two games, it’s amazing.”

Both Strazzulla and Battista praised their defensive players, including Claire Green, Caitlyn Mahoney, and Sawyer, for keeping the Rams in the game when the Spartans had their tremendous offensive push in the second half. 

“And don’t forget my freshman goalkeeper, Madison Thibeault,” Strazzulla said. “I really felt that as a freshman, she came out really brave.

Karlee Battista making a playing on the ball against Uxbridge. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

She took a kick in the head at one point but stayed tough. She definitely made key saves that changed the tone of the game for us.” 

On the other side, it was a gut-wrenching defeat for the valiant Spartan squad, who fought hard in a tough, physical game. After trailing 1-0 from Battista’s first half goal, Uxbridge turned up the offensive intensity in the second half, tilting the field in the direction of the Northbridge goal. The Spartans got the equalizer on a free kick of their own by Schleinitz. This time, the ball was on the right side of the field and Schleinitz booted a high-arching drive that cleared the outstretched hands of Thibeault.

“They’re all resilient,” said Uxbridge head coach Allyson Durkin. “Very resilient players and like I said they wanted this more than anything. I mean, it’s unfortunate how it played out, but they left it all out there.”

This game marked the third time Northbridge and Uxbridge played this season, both prior contests finished in ties. Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 20 and a 2-2 tie on Oct. 8. This is the first game that had a winner.

Despite the loss, Durkin said Compston was a dominant presence on defense, while Schleinitz and sophomore striker Kathryn Cahill created a lot of offensive opportunities for the Spartans. “This is [Compston’s] first season ever playing a defensive position. She’s dynamite,” Durkin said. “She never gives up. She never complains. She works hard. [Cahill] is our leading goal scorer. She’s got about 21 goals on the season. She’s a weapon. And C.C. Schleinitz, I mean she’s also one to watch. She can play anywhere, too … She was in the center back position in this game, but if I needed her up top, I could move her around and she’s just as effective. She showed that with her beautiful goal.”

Although disappointed they can’t keep playing, Durkin said she is optimistic that the Uxbridge girls’ soccer program has a bright future. “This is my first season in Uxbridge, so this is a hell of a season,” she said. “It’s always gonna have a special place in my heart. They are a great group of girls. They work hard on and off the field and you know it was a great game. It’s sad, but we’re hoping that in a weird way we can build from this.”

As for Northbridge, they advance to the state quarterfinals where they will play the second ranked Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in Hamilton, Mass on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. The Generals defeated Bishop Connelly (31), 8-0, Ipswich (15), 5-0, to advance. The Rams beat Southwick Regional (23), 2-1, prior to the Uxbridge game.

Regardless of their next opponent, Battista said “we are just going to continue to give it our all, one hundred percent. That’s all we can ever do and what we will continue to do and we’ll see what happens.”

In the meantime, Strazzulla wanted her team to enjoy the moment. “Ladies!” she called out to her team. “Ladies! Well done! I want you to go see your families that are here, okay? Take your time. Enjoy this moment. Don’t rush off the field, okay? The bus will be there when you are ready. Everybody is taking the bus. You better be on that bus ’cause the music is gonna be blaring and we’re going to be celebrating!”

Northbridge midfielder Molly Mawn (16) jumps on Karlee Battista with teammate Melissa Sabourin (2) following Battista_s game-winner. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba