GAINESVILLE — All season, the Gainesville girls soccer team responded to adversity with heart and fight.
The Lady Red Elephants did so again on Wednesday, but time ran out on their comeback attempt, as McIntosh held on for a 3-2 victory in the Class AAAAA playoffs in Gainesville.
Twice the Lady Red Elephants (16-3) faced two-goal deficits only to respond with a strike of their own, but goals from Breana Fair and Taylor Buffington were not enough to overturn a Lady Chiefs (17-2) team that made the most of its scoring opportunities.
"We couldn't afford to make mistakes against a team like that, and we also had some good looks that we didn't capitalize on," Gainesville coach Shelly Garner said. "This has just been such a special group, and they don't quit, and they showed that again tonight.
"I'm so proud of them. I could tell some of them were battling injuries, but they were still giving it their all; some of them were pulling it from the tips of their toes."
After a back and forth start, McIntosh started gaining control of the contest and earned its reward with 18:39 left in the half as Taylor Malasek staked the Lady Chiefs to a 1-0 lead.
Caroline Chang manufactured the strike with a speedy run down the right flank before dragging the ball back to the penalty spot for a wide-open Malasek.
Chang proved hard to contain for the Lady Red Elephants, and the winger broke loose again just two minutes later to help McIntosh double its advantage. This time she centered for Caroline Laux, who rolled her 14-yard shot past goalkeeper Alondra Wedding.
Needing a response, Gainesville worked to fashion one via the speedy and direct running of Fair and Alyssa Turner.
With Caroline Nabb providing through passes, it worked to perfection.
With just over two minutes left in the half, Nabb picked out Fair's sprint through the middle and the senior did the rest, out-running the McIntosh defense before volleying past a charging Emily Lopez in goal to make it 2-1.
Less than a minute later it was Turner's turn, and again the pass and set-up were perfect, as Turner chipped over Lopez and bore down on an empty goal. But this time a last-ditch tackle from Taylor Butler denied the equalizer on the goal line and sent Gainesville to the half trailing.
The Red Elephants continued to search for the equalizer after the interval, Turner and Fair dogged in their pursuit. But McIntosh also maintained its attack and made the most of a defensive miscue to regain a two-goal advantage, Laux scoring her second after a collision in the back for a 3-1 lead with 24:50 remaining.
Gainesville refused to yield, however, and the Lady Red Elephants poured forward in search of a response.
McIntosh's attack did not go dormant, however, and Wedding was forced into several impressive saves to keep Gainesville close.
Her work paid off with 3:22 remaining, as the Lady Red Elephants pounced to cut into the deficit, Buffington slamming home a loose ball off a corner kick.
The goal set the stage for a storming finish, but the Lady Red Elephants could not apply the killer touch, watching their season come to an end.
"Gainesville has always been good at soccer, but this showed how special this team is," said Garner, who will graduate seven seniors but will retain keys players such as record-setting scorer Turner and Nabb. "They are so full of heart."
