GLEN CARBON – It wasn’t how the Father McGivney Catholic High School boys soccer team thought it would go down.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Still, in the end, it was the expected result Tuesday night in the IHSA Class 1A Glen Carbon (Father McGivney) Sectional semifinals.
The Griffins held out for a 3-2 victory after a penalty shootout decided the winner between them and second-seeded Massac County.
The shootout went the first six rounds with every penalty taker scoring.
So tied 6-6, Massac County’s Jack Stephenson could score and put the pressure back on McGivney. He was the only shooter to miss, putting his shot over the crossbar, giving Liam Schmidt the chance at the game-winner.
Schmidt didn’t miss as all seven McGivney PK takers scored.
“This is his first season as a varsity starter,” McGivney head coach Brett Schubert said of Schmidt. “He gets an opportunity there and just does what he practices, which is put it in the back of the net.”
Overall, penalties are something the Griffins are comfortable with. They practice every day.
“We’ve got 10 assigned. We know our matchups that we like. It’s not like the boys are shocked. They have a job, and they know how to execute,” Schubert said.
Tuesday’s sectional semifinal was chilly with rain coming down on and off throughout. Not exactly ideal playing conditions, and it led to a tight game.
The team’s leading goal scorer opened things up in the 27th minute when Will Rakers put one home from Dedrick Amoussou’s through pass.
The Griffins would cling to that lead to halftime.
In the 67th minute, the Patriots outright shocked McGivney when they leveled things up.
Alex Hall took a touch inside half-field, looked up, saw Griffins’ goalkeeper Patrick Gierer off his line, and tried his luck from some 45 yards out. Gierer backpedaled as fast as he could, leaped up to try and make the save, but it was still just over his head to make it 1-1.
It was Hall’s 44th goal of the season.
It seemed to rattle the Griffins, albeit momentarily. Six minutes later, Graham Baker got the lead back when his header found the back of the net for his fifth of the season.
But the game was still far from over.
In the 75th minute, Gierer made one of his best saves of the game, pushing a shot off the post and out for a corner. The freshman, Brayden Leach, poked it home after a mad scramble in the box to tie the game up again at 2-2.
“It’s frustrating for sure,” Schubert said. “It’s again, a gut check for us. And maybe it’s what we need going into the rest of the playoffs to know that if we get behind or it’s tied, we don’t need to panic. We have a game plan, we want to try and execute it, and we’re going to just try to survive at this point. That’s what it’s all about.”
They’d first have to survive two 10-minute overtime periods.
Both teams had chances, but seemed fine playing this one out for penalties. So, after 100 minutes, the PK shootout decided who would move on to Saturday’s sectional championship.
Rakers, Brendan Kayser, Gierer, Lucas Roedl, and Anthony Harkins were the first five out to kick for the Griffins. Everyone scored. That brought up Hayden Apotheker and the eventual hero, Schmidt.
“That’s kind of how these wet nights go,” Schubert said. “They’re kind of a neutralizer in talent.”
“Every small touch matters. Every touch of the ball, every shot, every kick, every ricochet; you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s kind of what happened tonight,” Schubert continued. “We were just fortunate to be well-rehearsed in our Pks and ready to go.”
Now the Griffins will be ready to go for the sectional championship on Saturday, November 1st, where they’ll host the top-seeded Columbia Eagles at 6 p.m.
The Griffins improved to 21-4-1 as they get to continue their most successful season.
The Patriots see their best season come to a close at 19-3-2.
Head coach Kyle Reinwald has the Massac County boys soccer program on the rise.
Having never won more than eight games in a season, the Patriots rattled off a 17-2-2 record a season ago, entered the postseason as a three seed, and lost to second-seeded Murphysboro in the regional championship by a score of 1-0.
Massac County won its first-ever regional title last Saturday, avenging the loss to Murphysboro, this time ending up on the right side of a 1-0 scoreline, improving to 19-2-2.
McGivney beat fifth-seeded Lebanon in the regional championship by a score of 7-1. It was the program’s fifth regional title all-time.
McGivney still searches for its first sectional title.
