CCS's Clark Holt clears the ball away from the CCS goal Wednesday night in the Chargers heart breaking penalty kick loss to Alcoa.
photo by
Davick Photography
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- A few seconds extended Chattanooga Christian's season Wednesday night at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex, but a few inches ultimately ended it.
The Chargers played an intense 110 minutes of soccer against Alcoa in the Class A/AA state quarterfinals before their emotional roller-coaster ride came to an end when their final kick in a sudden-death shootout hit the crossbar.
CCS had been given new life twice, once when what would have been an Aloca goal passed over the line seconds after the buzzer sounded at the end of the second 10-minute overtime with the match tied at 1-1.
The Chargers stayed alive again when sophomore keeper Josh Blomberg saved the Tornado's final kick in the first shootout, but the miss in the second round of kicks ended the match with a 6-5 PK advantage for Alcoa.
"When it appeared they had won it and we got a second opportunity, I really thought that God was giving us a second chance," CCS coach Shawn Brower said. "When we didn't win it, we just had to say God is in control and leave it at that."
The Tornado took control in the first half against the top-ranked Chargers, who relied on their defense to fend off the attack and keep the match scoreless at the break. After a fiery halftime speech from Brower, the Chargers came out much stronger for the second period, and put together several scoring opportunities.
"They were the biggest, most physical team we've seen, and we played their style of soccer in the first half," Brower said. "And with the team we have, we will not win that way. I thought we definitely settled down and played a little more composed in the second half."
A shot from Rocklin Shumaker sailed over the net four minutes in, and with 12:09 remaining, Corey Wilson took a ball from Adam Ryan, beat the Aloca defense and sent in a goal to put CCS up 1-0. The Chargers' momentum was short-lived, however, as the Tornadoes responded less than three minutes later with a long, high-arching shot that fell inside the net just out of Blomberg's reach.
"I thought we were going to hold them," Brower said. "Our defense was doing so well. I thought Drew Mullican and Lee Wennerstrom in the back were absolutely brilliant the whole game. We just let him get away from us for a second, and he hit a perfect shot."
Alcoa keeper Adrian Womac made a diving save on a hard shot from Shumaker two minutes into the first 10-minute overtime, but neither team could connect through the first 19 minutes of extra play. Then, with the seconds ticking down in the second 10-minute period, a Tornado shot got past Blomberg just as the final buzzer sounded.
Officials appeared to inititally signal for a goal, sending Aloca into celebration, but after leaving the field for a brief discussion, they returned to send the match into two five-minute sudden-death overtimes.
"That was tough," Brower said. "He kicked it, then you heard the buzzer. It just didn't seem like it had crossed the line. You have to give the officials a huge amount of credit. The linesman said it didn't cross before the buzzer went off. It really was amazing that the crew had the guts to make that call. They did a great job."
The Chargers tried to make the most of their second chance, but couldn't finish an opportunity in the remainder of overtime. After Womac dove for a save on the Chargers' second penalty kick of the shootout, it appeared the Tornadoes had the match in hand again before Blomberg came through with the stop and Roy Anderson connected on CCS's last kick to end the first round of the shootout at 4-4.
Alcoa appeared to have the game won yet again when Womac made a kicksave on the Chargers' first PK of the sudden-death shootout, but officials ruled he had left the line early, and Taylor Ferrar's second attempt found the net. But after the Tornadoes connected on their next shot, the Chargers' high shot narrowly missed, hitting the crossbar and ending their season at 18-2-1.
"It's just a shame when it has to go down this way," Brower said. "I know the boys want a state championship ring, but a ring is just a symbol. It's really all about the time they've spent together and the relationships they've developed. This is a young team, and they've exceeded all my goals and expectations for them."
(E-mail Jaime Lackey at jaimenlackey@yahoo.com)
Class A/AA quarterfinals
AlLCOA 1 (6-5 PKs), CHATTANOOGA CHRISTAIN 1
Halftime score: 0-0. Goals: Corey Wilson (CCS); Eric Lusinger (A). Shots: 11-11. Saves: Josh Blomberg 4 (CCS). Records: Aloca 17-5-1; CCS 18-2-1.