PHOTOS: Patrick's hat trick helps Rogers claim state title in OT

Rogers midfielder Skylurr Patrick (3) and Bryant’s Abbey Inman (21) fight for possession of the ball during the Class 7A girls state soccer championship Friday at Razorback Field in Fayetteville. Patrick had all three goals for Rogers as it won 3-2 in overtime.
Rogers midfielder Skylurr Patrick (3) and Bryant’s Abbey Inman (21) fight for possession of the ball during the Class 7A girls state soccer championship Friday at Razorback Field in Fayetteville. Patrick had all three goals for Rogers as it won 3-2 in overtime.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Skylurr Patrick went looking for people to celebrate with after she scored the winning goal to give Rogers High a 3-2 overtime win over Bryant and the Class 7A girls state soccer title on Friday morning at Razorback Field.

The senior took a beautiful pass from teammate Haley Arrick and broke away to score with 1 minute, 43 seconds left in overtime, then sprinted to celebrate with Lady Mounties' fans in the stands, high-fiving them along the sideline before being mobbed by her teammates.

Patrick, a Purdue signee, scored all three Rogers goals, all coming in the second half to earn Most Valuable Player honors. But she said the team got together at the end of regulation and refocused, despite the fact Bryant rallied to tie the match 1-1 and then again 2-2 to force overtime.

"We've came this far and we weren't gonna give up now," said Patrick, who played her senior season at Rogers after playing club ball in Tulsa for the past two years. "We put in 80 minutes of just sweat, tears. Our legs are giving up on us and we finished strong. We knew we could do it coming into overtime, so just fought harder.

"I'm up top. They gave me those beautiful balls. They never gave up and I couldn't do anything without my team. We've bonded over the year and it feels so great to win one last game and the biggest game with them."

Rogers coach Aaron Crouch said Patrick delivered big on the big stage.

"Today she came up big-time," Crouch said. "She really left it all out on the field being her final game of her senior year. In the second half, when the sun's higher it becomes a battle of wills and who can keep going.

"I just told them going into overtime 'you're gonna tell this story for the rest of your life. What story do you want to tell? You don't want to regret knowing that you could have given more.'"

Bryant coach Nicole Inman said Patrick was the key in the evenly contested match.

"I think we produced more opportunities and you know that number three, Skylurr. She was good at getting in there and just finding the end of a ball and sometimes we were a little slower on the transition on those moments so that cost us the goals they got."

The match became a see-saw affair midway through the second half as Patrick finally broke a scoreless tie with 23:55 left on an assist from Ashlyn Babbitt, but Bryant freshman Ashton Iman countered two minutes later to tie it at 1.

Patrick curled in a shot from the far left side from 30 yards out to give Rogers (19-5-1 and No. 2 seed from the 7A-West) a 2-1 advantage. But Bryant (17-6) again responded with the equalizer by Jessica Butler with 10:23 left in regulation.

Rogers goalkeeper Mackenzie Brace came up big as well with nine saves, including two on breakaways. However, the sophomore acknowledged she was thinking of her mistake to allow Bryant's second goal during the break before overtime.

"Honestly, I was upset with myself," Brace said. "The second one shouldn't have been a goal. I was kinda down, but the whole team picked me up. We all worked so hard for this and I wasn't going to let it get to me."

"Brace's miscue can for sure be overlooked," Crouch said. "She made a mistake on that second goal, but dear Lord she saved us like six times. Chelsea Arrick at center back, what a game for her, too, her senior year and final game."

Sports on 05/19/2018

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