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Middletown -- In the final eight minutes, several Middletown starters went back into the match -- one removed a warmup jacket she donned on the sidelines during this chilly night. The reason: Walkersville was storming back into the game, scoring a pair of late goals that cut Middletown 's lead to one with a little over two minutes left. The Knights needed someone to snuff out this comeback attempt. That someone turned out to be Mackenzie Noel -- a freshman looking to make up for missed scoring opportunities. After sending a few shots over the crossbar earlier, Noel banged in an insurance goal in the final two minutes to help Middletown hold on for a 5-3 win over Walkersville in the Class 2A West Region girls soccer quarterfinals. The Knights (12-2) advance to the regional semifinals, where they will play at Winters Mill -- a 1-0 winner over Liberty -- on Friday. Walkersville made them earn that trip. "Exciting. Maybe a little too exciting," said Middletown 's Jacky Kessler, who had two goals and one assist. "It was scary because I thought it was going to slip for a second," Noel said. Noel helped make sure that didn't happen, and she redeemed herself in the process. She figured she booted three shots over the crossbar against the Lions. "It was frustrating because I wanted one," Noel said. She got another chance with her team clinging to a one-goal lead. The ball trickled back out up top after Middletown 's Alycia Giauque challenged the keeper. Noel had a shot at an open net. Imagine how big the ball looked to her, and imagine the potential anxiety that could've easily caused her to send another shot over the net. "It's intense. You feel like you have to make it," Noel said. "I tried to lean over it so it didn't pop up over the goal." Using her left foot, the Knights newcomer whom they call "Freshy" hit a shot that sailed into the net for her second varsity goal. She's been one of many contributors for the Knights this season -- she also had an assist Tuesday. "She's been wanting that for awhile," Middletown coach Heather Kline said. "I honestly thought it was over the crossbar again. And I turned around and saw the net ripple." Kessler and Tara Staley helped the Knights take command early. Kessler tapped in a goal off Staley's left-to-right cross for the match's first goal, and Staley scored on a 20-yard shot from the left side to let the Knights take a 2-0 lead into halftime. Jenna Caudle's goal gave the Knights a 4-1 lead with a little over 23 minutes left, but the Lions weren't going down without a fight. At the time, Danielle Duffy had Walkersville 's only goal. But after the Knights pulled a bunch of starters, the Lions inched closer on Erin Claro's goal with 8:06 left. And Carrie Ingram scored on a shot that banged off the right post, cutting Middletown 's lead to 4-3 with 2:25 left. "We didn't quit," Walkersville coach Kent Wetzel said. "They may have pulled some of their starters and put in another keeper, but we saw that as an opportunity to get back in the game, and we took advantage of it." The Lions finish with an 8-8 record. They played a large portion of the season without Mampy Beck, one of the area's top scorers who was hampered by hamstring and groin injuries. "That's hard, but I think it was a good experience for some of the other girls who had to step up. You saw that tonight -- we had three different goal scorers." Beck played Tuesday, but Wetzel said she wasn't 100 percent. She still hit some dangerous corner kicks, including one in the first half that nearly resulted in a goal. Middletown keeper Nikki Frushour made the stop on a header. "I got my hand on it, but it got away from me," said Frushour, who grabbed the loose ball. "But I got it before it crossed the line." Jocelyn Martin had 10 saves for the Lions.
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