ROYAL CITY - It can't get much tougher in soccer than it was for the Royal girls last week. They dropped a 1-0 contest to Connell in two overtimes and came back to beat Goldendale, 1-0, in a 17-person shootout.

"It was a roller coaster ride," coach Jens Jensen said.

The roller coaster ride ended when Angie DeLaRosa made a shot and Goldendale did not in the 17th go-around.

"We really should have put the match to rest far before a shootout was required," Jensen said. "We had a number of opportunities in front of the goal."

Indeed. Royal had 15 shots, including nine on goal. Goldendale had five shots, all on goal.

"But all shots were off target or directly to the goal keeper," Jensen said. "It was getting extremely frustrating for everyone. Regardless of the required shootout and the fact that it took 17 shooters, it was a great relief to pull out the victory."

A shootout usually goes five shots, but the teams were tied 3-3 at that point. They were required to go as many shots as required to break the tie.

DeLaRosa's shot put Royal up 9-8 on Royal's 17th attempt, and Goldendale missed on its 17th attempt.

The girls who made shots for Royal, in order, were Gladys Meza, Maria Garcia, Brianda Cardenas, Cynthia Cid, Jatender Veenstra, Flor Araujo, Samantha Cera. Danielle Ledezma, Gladys Mesa and DeLaRosa.

The loss to Connell was just as tight. A surprise attack by the Eagles was the difference.

A ball played forward quickly by a Connell mid-fielder in the second overtime surprised the Knight defender, and a Connell forward broke free and found the back of the net.

"The girls were coming off a difficult overtime loss at Mabton and were looking to turn things around a bit. They played much better and worked for one another," Jensen said.

"We are disappointed with the result but happy with the effort and the overall performance," he added.