The first time Tabitha Hayden dribbled 50 yards through Warren Central’s defense, she missed her shot.

The second time she did it, that simply wasn’t an option.

Hayden weaved her way past, around and through four defenders, then banged a shot off the crossbar that landed behind WC keeper Jazz Walker. The goal, the only one in 100 minutes of soccer, gave Vicksburg a 1-0 overtime victory over their crosstown rivals on Tuesday night.

“She beat their defense three times, and was one-on-one with the keeper. And all three were left-footed,” Vicksburg coach Kevin Manton said, seemingly building Hayden’s legend as he went. “She’s very special. I don’t want to say we’re one-dimensional, but it’s pretty close. We’re going to be as good as she is.”

Hayden was very good on Tuesday, even if it took her three tries to finally get it right.

She got an open look at the goal 8 1/2 minutes into the second half, but missed high to the left. With the game still scoreless about 17 minutes later, she got the ball around midfield and started dribbling up the right sideline. She outran one defender, juked another 30 yards from the goal, and cut back toward the middle of the field. As she set up to shoot, however, she fell and pulled the shot wide right.

“I was just trying to get to the front of the goal and I saw a girl on my right. I slipped,” Hayden said.

The game remained scoreless through regulation. Four minutes into the first of two 10-minute overtime periods, Hayden went to work again. She got the ball just past midfield and started a run nearly identical to her previous one. This time she cut farther toward the middle and lifted the shot high, just over Walker’s head. It struck the crossbar and fell straight down, bouncing behind the WC keeper and into the net.

Hayden’s heroics were the difference in an otherwise evenly-played game. Vicksburg outshot WC 14-11, and each team controlled one half of play. Walker made eight saves, while VHS keeper Kelli Brewer made 10. Thanks to Hayden, though, the Missy Gators (4-2-1) were able to cash in one more rare opportunity than the Lady Vikes (4-1-2).

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com