FORTVILLE — In a heartbreaking 2-1, double-overtime loss to the Greenfield-Central Cougars, the Pendleton Heights Arabians just missed the chance to advance to the 2009 IHSAA girls soccer sectional finals. But they sure put up a good fight.

“This was a grudge match,” said PH head coach Brian Sampson. “It was all about who wanted it more.”

The cold, biting wind and muddy terrain didn’t help either.

“These conditions tonight really affected our style of play,” Sampson said. “We play a very controlled game and it was very hard to do that here.”

In the opening five minutes of the first half, Taylor Titus whizzed a sharp shot past Pendleton netminder Kinzie Davis to take the 1-0 lead. This quick goal gave the Cougars a big advantage.

The Arabians kept pace with Greenfield, despite the fact that the Cougars seemed to anticipate their every movement. Davis made a leaping save at 26:55 and helped keep the deficit to just one.

“We are a young team,” Sampson said, based on the fact that they only have two seniors. “This has been a learning year. We’ve had a tough schedule and have played a lot of ranked teams and we’ve kept up with them.”

Erica Manchess had a beautiful shot on Cougars goalkeeper Rhiannon Teeter at 13:45, but it just nicked the corner. From the sidelines, Sampson encouraged the girls to keep shooting.

And that is exactly what they did.

The Arabians steadily became a more present danger in the Cougars zone. Manchess had another shot on net at 6:15, but it was once again recovered by Teeter. Just two minutes later, Pendleton finally got its break.

Taylor Maxwell artfully booted a shot to the top of the Cougars goalpost and Kaitlin Wiles, who was waiting for the rebound, kicked the ball into the net before Teeter knew what hit her. The score was 1-1 at the break and the Arabians were back in the game.

The second stanza opened on a much dirtier field, but the momentum had shifted in the Arabians’ favor.

“I told them to go out there and play harder,” Sampson said. “And they didn’t give up.”

Davis continued to impress after she made two saves at 26:07 to keep the score deadlocked at 1-1. Pndleton had several golden scoring opportunities, but they were successfully stopped by the Cougars defense.

Although both squads fervently fought for the winning goal, the battle progressed into overtime. Both teams were tired and freezing, but the cat-and-mouse game didn’t cease. Pendleton consistently maneuvered the ball into scoring position, but it just wasn’t in the cards.