Fight to the finish
Rome gets a late goal and outlasts Chamblee in penalty kicks to open the playoffs with a win.
Rome’s soccer team gets a late goal and outlasts Chamblee in penalty kicks to open the playoffs with a win.
At every single practice, the Rome boys’ soccer team drills penalty kicks. It’s been the one mainstay throughout the season, just in case the Wolves found themselves in a tight situation.
That situation arrived Friday night at Barron Stadium, and the Wolves rose to the occasion.
In its first playoff game in three years, Rome forced overtime with a late goal in the second half of their Class 5A state playoff opener and beat Chamblee in penalty kicks, 8-7, after a 2-2 draw in regulation and overtime.
The shootout went to a tenth round, where junior Alex Syverstuen scored to give the Wolves the win.
“We always work on penalty kicks, we do it all the time,” Rome coach Chris Cochran said. “So I knew if sooner or later it came down to that, our kids would do well.”
Rome’s Angel Morente and Edgar Blanco each scored a goal for Rome, while goalkeeper Grant Chambers recorded four saves and did not allow a goal after halftime.
Blanco scored on a penalty kick to tie the game at two-all in the 69th minute, and neither team could score through the rest of regulation and both overtime periods. Thus began a shootout where Chamblee and Rome went make for make and miss for miss with each other for nine rounds.
The Wolves (11-4-1) finally broke the streak when Chambers made a save in the tenth round and gave his team a chance. Syverstuen then stepped up and kicked the ball into the right corner of the goal to set off a wild celebration, with fans eventually coming onto the field.
“I was definitely thinking about it as it came to my turn, because they had a great goalkeeper,” Syverstuen said. “I just had to place it down in the corner, and that’s what I did.”
Rome took the lead a mere 17 seconds into the match when a light kick from Morente got past Chamblee’s keeper. After that, however, the Wolves weren’t able to finish whenever the ball got into the box.
Chamblee (7-10-2) scored on a penalty kick from Sandor Monne in the 25th minute and again on a dazzling strike from Joseph Feagle with seconds left before the break. Cochran attempted to change formations and switch up attacks for his team but nothing seemed to work.
“It was a mental thing for us,” Cochran said. “It was not a scheme thing or formation thing. It was all about doing mental things we should not have done.”
As the second half wore on, the Bulldogs appeared to get tired, and Rome started to force more chances, ultimately ending in Blanco drawing a penalty.
With the match tied again, the team that had practiced PKs all season was ready for what was to come.
“Tonight just came down to heart, because honestly we did not play our best game,” Cochran said. “Despite that, we gave every bit of effort and that’s what you need in the playoffs.”
Rome now awaits the winner of today’s match between Veterans and Fayette County to see who it will face in the Sweet Sixteen, which is expected to be held Wednesday.