By Allen Kha / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
On the outside looking in for the state tournament despite his team winning five out of its last six games, Tandem Friends coach Craig Brannan told his squad prior to kickoff that he wanted the Badgers to end its season on a high, as Delaney Athletic Conference champions.
“Even if we had made it to states, every team but one ends on a losing note,” Brannan said. “We have to frame it positively, and because we still had a lot to play for against a good team.”
Fast forward 80 minutes of regular time play, 10 minutes of overtime, and an absolutely wild round of penalty kicks — plus two separate dog pile victory celebrations — the Badgers capped their season off with a 3-0 penalty kick victory over visiting Seton.
Seton jumped out to an early lead in the first half, grabbing a goal in the game’s 10th minute from David Lanbrecht’s connection with a low cross. With Seton controlling the majority of the possession in the half, the visiting team’s pressure was rewarded when striker Joe Francis scored 20 minutes later off a low cross.
“It was a tale of two halves, and in the first half, they were controlling the match,” Brannan said. “Our positioning was off and we weren’t playing with the will and motivation we needed to play with, which is what I told my players on the sideline at halftime.”
Tandem turned its performance around in the second half, playing with more attacking vigor right from the whistle. The new-found determination paid immediate dividends when, right back Edan Lyons lofted a cross from the right touchline towards the far post.
Josh Connelly, streaking towards the far post, connected on the cross with an emphatic header to cut Seton’s lead to 2-1 five minutes into the second half.
Three minutes later, the Badgers’ offensive pressure was further rewarded when they drew a penalty kick, which forward Rees Parrish missed on a good reflex save by Seton’s goalkeeper.
Failing to capitalize on its golden opportunity to tie the game, Tandem continued to press for the tying goal. In the final seconds of stoppage time, senior forward Ollie Tennant broke an offside trap and connected with a lofted pass to score a beautiful headed-goal and bring the game to overtime.
After both teams failed to score in the ten-minute overtime period, penalty kicks ensued.
Both teams went three-for five on its original five penalty kicks, with Seton’s Seth Flynn missing the potential championship-winning kick in the fifth round high. Both teams’ goalies then made saves in the sixth round of penalty kicks.
In the seventh round of penalty kicks, Tandem thought it secured the championship when captain Wilson Ruotolo scored on his penalty kick and Seton’s Austin Mee missed his penalty kick high.
After celebrating its presumed championship, the referees indicated that a technical oversight on their part — allowing a player to kick twice before all eleven attempted a penalty shot — necessitated a re-kick of the penalty shootout.
Despite insinuating to the players that any of the first five kickers could re-kick after the fifth rounds — which Ruotolo fell victim to, having scored in the second round — the referees recognized their error and called for a complete redo of the shootout.
Tandem won the second penalty shootout attempt 3-0, with keeper Christopher Bender making two huge saves to secure the conference championship.
Bender, who started the game on the bench and came into the game midway in the second half, was particularly relieved at the game’s final result.
“[Coming in the second half], I just put my best effort in and tried to get in a good rhythm quickly. Despite being down in the second half, we were calm. We’ve already growth so much this season, that this game was meant to be fun for us,” Bender said. “And what a whirlwind in the penalty kicks. It was crazy to celebrate twice like we did. When I made the saves [in the second attempt at penalty kicks], they were just good guess saves and reflex saves, and a bit of luck.”
Brannan echoed Bender’s comments on team pride, also lamenting that the team wasn’t continuing its season in the state tournament.
“It’s my first season here, and we’ve accomplished so much. But when you look at it, we’ve lost a game here, a one-goal game there. We were up 3-0 to Covenant at one point and lost 5-3, and perhaps that game would have been the difference between us being in the state tournament,” Brannan said. “But we ended the season on a high, as winners, and I can’t ask for much more than that from the players. I might have to bust out the rulebook to understand what went on in the end of the game, but it was a wonderful match that served as a microcosm of our season.”
