Trenton survives in penalty shootout
TRENTON » The two things Joe Fink loves to talk about most is soccer, and hit team winning a soccer game.
But that rule was altered slightly Tuesday, after Fink’s Trenton Central High boys’ soccer team survived a pulsating shootout to defeat Robbinsville in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament.
It was a game in which 5th-seeded Trenton (11-4-1) could not score despite having a two-man advantage the final 14 minutes of overtime. The 12th-seeded Ravens (5-9-3) then appeared on the verge of an upset when it led 3-2 in PKs and needed one save or one conversion to win it. They got neither.
Trenton’s Brayan Garcia scored to tie it and Raul Mendez saved the Ravens’ final shot to force sudden death PKs. Brainer Montero slotted his second PK to put Trenton up 4-3, and Mendez made a diving save to send the Tornadoes into a quarterfinal game at West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
Asked to put it all in words, a dazed Fink had few.
“Frustration. . .uh. . .exhilaration,” Fink said. “That’s all I got.”
Losing coach Jeff Fisher was a tad more eloquent.
“They rose to the occasion when it got tight like that,” he said. “You gotta give them credit.
“But I’m proud of my guys. They came into a tough environment against a good team and they fought. Even when it seemed like the odds were up against us -- playing down two men is tough to do against a team with that much talent – they dug in.”
The Tornadoes knocked the ball around decently in the first half. Finally, with 5:20 left, Mario Palacios scored after taking a nice through ball from Aba David.
Robbinsville goalie Austin Herbert, who was outstanding with 11 saves, kept the Ravens in it and they capitalized with 13:32 left when Tyler Makkay tied it with Mendez out of the goal.
In a nightmare first OT for Robbinsville, one player got a second yellow card with 4:16 left, and another got his second with 3:38 remaining. The Ravens had no alternative but to pack it in and hope for PKs. Herbert kept it tied with a diving save off a shot that rocked out of a group of Tornadoes with 50 seconds left.
“He’s been playing great all year and he’s turning into one of the better keepers in the county,” Fisher said. “He just keeps building and building confidence. There’s nothing negative to say about him.”
Trenton shot first in PKs and Herbert made a diving save to start. Robbinsville converted its next three and Trenton its next two, but each goalie saved the fourth. Still trailing 3-2, Trenton made its final two shots and Mendez saved his final two.
“On the last penalty, the guy shot to the left side (and converted) his first time, so I thought he might go that way again and he did,” Mendez said. “That’s God. God was with me.”
The goalie admitted to feeling some pressure.
“I was like ‘Man, if we lose this game, it will be my fault,’ so I tried to do my best,” he said. “I was sad that we went to penalties. But after penalties I felt good because I saved my team. Their guy was really good, but we have good penalty kickers and we did a good job.”
Fink, who praised Robbinsville for being able to frustrate the Tornadoes and knock them off their game, eventually regained his thoughts and talked about liking his team’s chances.
“I felt confident with Raul and all our guys,” he said. “We were down a PK with one left but I knew it wasn’t over. It wasn’t looking good, but our guys didn’t give up and Raul came up huge. He was the big difference maker.”
The win may have made Mercer County history. With Christie Fink’s Nottingham girls winning in OT earlier in the day, it very well could be the first time a father and daughter have coached MCT soccer winners on the same day.
“I don’t know about that,” Fink said, adding with a laugh, “but it’s gotta be the first time both did it in overtime.”
Robbinsville (5-8-4) Trenton (10-4-2) 0100— 1000— Trenton wins on penalty kicks, 4-3 Goals — Assists — Shots — Saves —
Makkay (R), Palacios (T). David (T).
6 (R), 15 (T).
Herbert 11 (R), Mendez 3 (T). Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores
1 1