Kylee Dominy’s Olimpico Goal Propels Jasper to Championship Game

GEORGETOWN – Gabriela Carter closed her eyes.

Carter, the Jasper girls’ soccer coach, couldn’t bear to watch. Kylee Dominy readied for a corner kick late in a scoreless match with Kilgore on Wednesday. A trip to the state championship was on the line.

With the wind in her favor, Dominy stepped back and booted the ball. It took a path typical of a corner kick as players from both teams jumped up to make contact. Instead, the ball missed everyone, curving at the last second to land in the back of the net for an olimpico goal.

It was all Jasper needed as it defeated Kilgore, 1-0, in the 4A state semifinal.

“She has a foot for that,” Carter said. “All I know is when I opened (my eyes), it was in the back of the net. Kylee, she really puts a spin on those.”

Dominy said she felt the wind and planned to use it to her advantage. She knew from practice that she could make it, but it’s rare that a ball goes untouched in a game.

“It’s unusual for sure,” Dominy said. “I’ve been practicing those and I knew it was do-or-die moment. I saw the wind was in my favor and I just took the opportunity I had.”

The game plodded along in the first half.

Defense took center stage as there were a combined six shots. Jasper (18-1) got the best looks, with Marissa Lopez’ shot with three minutes saved and Julia Carter’s shot flying above the goal as time expired.

Gabriela Carter said her team just needed some motivation to keep attacking in the second.

“A couple of things happened early on that kind of unbalanced us a little bit,” she said. “It took us a little bit to regroup. Other than that, it was just finding our width again. Sometimes the weather and noise plays into it. I’m like, ‘Hey girls, just stay focused. It’s another soccer game.’”

Jasper heeded its coach’s advice.

Within the first 10 minutes, it accumulated three more shots. The closest came with 30 minutes remaining from Dominy, but goalie Sarah Loomis knocked it up and it landed on top of the net.

Kilgore’s Ashley Castillo nearly connected a couple of minutes later, but the ball hit the left post and rolled away.

The game seemed destined for overtime before Dominy scored the goal. She said despite the lack of success, Jasper didn’t lose its composure.

“We just try to stay calm and keep passing it no matter what,” she said. “We hope that we can work the ball up like we need to.”

Jasper has made four consecutive trips to the state tournament, but fell short each time. It fell 6-0 to Kennedale in 2016.

Dominy, a senior, said if the past three seasons have taught her anything, it’s not to get too anxious. When Jasper faces Midlothian Heritage at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, she will try to keep her mental fortitude.

Gabriela Carter wants the same.

“We’re gonna regroup back in our rooms and treat what we need to treat,” Carter said. “We’re gonna take from this game and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes tomorrow.”