Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Panthers lose grasp on title in second half of overtime

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Losing a championship on penalty kicks may be more painful, but since that isn’t a possibility in the GHSA state soccer playoffs, Starr’s Mill’s 1-0 loss to Brookwood, with 30 seconds left in overtime, is what could be known as a “heart-obliterator.”

Starr’s Mill and Brookwood’s varsity boys soccer teams played an even match for 109 minutes and 30 seconds. Momentum shifted back and forth, as the two teams battled cleanly for sole possession of the state title. Starr’s Mill made a number of huge defensive stops in the first half and also had several scoring opportunities. Play continued in the same way in the second half with both teams matching up evenly. Goalkeeper Matt Troop made a huge save off a direct kick with 13 minutes remaining in regulation to keep the game scoreless.

Toward the end of the second half, Brookwood looked one step faster and beat the Panthers to a number of balls, but Starr’s Mill came out and looked dominant in the first half of overtime, putting all the pressure on the Brookwood defense and just missing on a few scoring opportunities. The second half of overtime was closer and with 38 seconds remaining, Starr’s Mill’s Kyle Nowicki and a Brookwood player each got yellow cards and Brookwood got a direct kick. The ball was kicked up in the air and in the resulting scrum a Brookwood player knocked the ball in the net.

The air left the stadium and Starr’s Mill players collapsed on the ground. Though they had one more chance to put a ball on goal, it was to no avail. Brookwood fans stormed the field and Starr’s Mill was forced to finish as state runner-up in Class AAAAA.

“It was a shame that it happened that way,” said Coach Mike Hanie. “It was the toughest loss I’ve ever coached in.” Hanie continued by stating that it is extremely difficult to make the finals in the AAAAA playoffs. “I wish we could have held on. With two evenly matched teams like we were, I knew we would only have a few chances to score. We missed a couple of chances and got unlucky giving up that goal.”

The team finished with a record of 16-3-3, which ties the school record for most wins. The team only allowed 11 goals this year, which set a new school record, breaking the previous record of 14 goals. Hanie was proud of his team’s effort all season, especially since a number of players had to step up when other players were injured. Starr’s Mill will graduate five seniors from the squad but will have 13 members of this team return next year.