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By Spencer DuPuis
LoCoSports Journalist

Leesburg (June 9, 2015) — For the fourth time this season, the Heritage High School and Loudoun County High School girls soccer teams met, but on Friday, June 5 it was to play for the VHSL 4A North region title.

The whole game was a back and forth, hard fought match with neither goalkeeper giving up a goal for 87 straight minutes.

In the 65th-minute, the Raiders’ defense — who had been stout up to that point in the game — gave up a few shots to the Pride on a sustained offensive attack, but the game remained scoreless through regulation.

“We pushed up, they had done great the whole game,” Loudoun County head coach Kirk Smith said. “I broke the formation just to give them a rest. I wanted to try to get this thing done before penalty kicks. We pushed them up, so that’s why some balls got through that [didn’t] earlier.”

In the 88th-minute, Raider senior midfielder Gabby Gillis found the back of the net to give Loudoun County the lead with under two minutes left in the second, of two, mandatory five-minute overtime periods.

“It’s honestly the best feeling,” the CNU-commit Gillis said. “I was kind of in disbelief. It is literally the best feeling in the world, I might not have the best stats. I guess this time, it was just my time. I was at the right place at the right time and got the right shot to help my team.”

This season, the Loudoun County girls soccer team racked up the Conference 21 title and the VHSL 4A North region title.

The Raiders will play the VHSL 4A South runner up Nansemond River High School in a VHSL 4A state semifinal on Friday, June 12 at Amherst County High School at 12 p.m.

“[It was] a tough game, they are a really good team,” Smith said. “With that goalie, you have to put as many shots within that net area as you can and hopefully one would fall in, and it finally did.”

Despite Heritage’s loss, they will also move onto a VHSL 4A state semifinal on Friday, June 12 against the VHSL 4A South champion Midlothian High School at Amherst County High School at 10 a.m.

“Our defense was solid tonight,” Heritage head coach Holly King said. “At the end of the day, we still have states. I think this one hurt the girls real bad, but it might even provide momentum going into the [state semifinal]game, so that’s what we are focused on now.”

Scoring:
88′ LC Gabby Gillis

Spencer DuPuis is a junior at Heritage High School in Leesburg. Follow LoCoSports on Twitter (@LoCoSports) for up-to-date news and scores from around Loudoun County.