One shot off the hands of Chattanooga Christian goalkeeper Cameron Close cost the Chargers a lead in their district soccer semifinal Tuesday night, but another ultimately helped CCS win it.
Visiting Notre Dame equalized five minutes into the second half of the 7-A/AA semifinal, and neither team could break through during 35 more minutes of regulation, 30 of overtime, and one round of a penalty kick shootout.
When the match advanced to sudden-death PKs, Close got his hands down in time to grab the second Notre Dame shot, and Barrot Bickley followed by connecting for CCS. After the Irish missed their final attempt, the Chargers celebrated their 6-5 PK advantage, which puts them in Thursday’s district final at Signal Mountain.
“There’s not much you can do about it,” CCS coach David Stanton said of watching his players step in for their penalty kicks. “There’s no coaching at that point. We practice this every day.”
Injuries forced the Chargers to use a new lineup for Thursday’s match, a lineup that included several freshmen starters. CCS responded with a goal from Chad Carney, the first of his Chargers’ career, 19 minutes into the match on a ball from David Drinnon.
The 1-0 lead held through halftime, but early in the second period, Notre Dame followed a ball that got away from Close for the equalizer. Both teams had several opportunities to break the tie before the end of regulation, but both defenses made plays to keep their opponents out of the net.
“They kind of got the wind knocked out of them a little bit,” Stanton said. “They didn’t stop playing, but you’ve got 11 people involved, and it’s always interesting to see how they respond to those competitive moments.”
Midway through the first 10-minute overtime, the Chargers had the best opportunity for either team during the extra periods with a shot that hit the crossbar. The match then advanced through the second 10-minute overtime and the two five-minute golden goal periods with neither team finishing an opportunity.
In the shootout, the first round ended at 4-4 after each team sent one shot over the goal. Both teams made their first attempt in the sudden-death round, but the Chargers’ next one went off the frame.
Close then responded with a huge stop, setting up Bickley’s attempt that proved to be the kick that kept the Chargers’ season alive.
“I think we’re a good enough team to stay alive for a while, but we survived a real scare tonight,” Stanton said.
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)