varsity.roanoke.com

Mindy Conner isn't afraid to admit that the pressure got to her.

"Oh, gosh," Conner said. "My nerves were at an all-time high. It was crazy. I was freaking out."

Funny. It never showed.

Conner, a sophomore goalkeeper for Northside, played the best game of her young career Friday night, swatting away numerous William Byrd chances during a frantic second half and helping the host Vikings prevail 2-1 to capture their first Blue Ridge District girls' soccer title.

Conner platooned with fellow sophomore Krystle Barker during the regular season, with each goalie alternating halves. But with Barker nursing an injury, Conner got the nod for the entire game Friday.

"I have two No.1 goalkeepers," Northside coach Shawn Duff said. "And that's what everybody is beginning to find out."

Conner proved it with about 20 minutes left in the game when she made a diving save on a penalty kick by Byrd's Apryl Firebaugh to preserve a 2-0 lead. Teammates mobbed her, the game seemingly secure.

But the Terriers (7-12) didn't let up, continuing to pound shots on goal. And when Brittany Jividen scored in traffic with about seven minutes remaining to cut the lead in half, Byrd had all the momentum.

But Conner and the Northside defense were not about to give up the equalizer.

"We had to have this game," Conner said.

Northside got both of its goals in the first half, with sophomore midfielder Kristina Bonamo drilling home a rebound and Alexi Staton taking a pretty feed from senior Amber Hentschel on the breakaway and tapping it into the open net.

From there, it was up to the defense. And a team that had finished runner-up in four of the past six years was up to the task.

"We wanted this one so bad," Staton said. "And I think that's why we got it."

Both teams had qualified for regional play regardless of Friday's results. The Vikings will host Brookville at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the first round of the Region III tournament, and Byrd will travel to Cave Spring that same night for a 7 p.m. match.