Eagles fall short in PK shootout
♦ Coosa drops a tough one to Gordon Central in a battle for the region championship.
In a game that was a fitting battle for a region title, Coosa fell just short in a heartbreaking loss in a penalty-kick shootout against Gordon Central on Thursday night.
After the two teams traded goals and momentum shifts throughout regulation and overtime with the contest knotted at 2-2, it headed to penalty kicks. The Warriors made their first four attempts in the shootout while Coosa was held to just one successful kick in three attempts thanks to a clutch save by Gordon Central goalkeeper Armando Sanchez and one kick that sailed wide left.
“Credit to (Gordon Central),” said Coosa head coach Ruben Maldonado. “They have very good players just like we do, but we just came up on the short end of things tonight. We had a good run through the region and had a chance to win a region title tonight, but it didn’t go our way. We’ve still got the state playoffs, and we are looking forward to doing great things there.”
Coosa (12-3-1, 8-2 in 7-AA) dealt the first blow in Thursday’s game as a nice pass across the box from Maiky Velasquez found the foot of Wesley Ordonez who deposited into the back of the next to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Gordon Central (12-1, 10-0) answered back a few minutes later as Charley Garcia made an impressive run through the Coosa defense and sent the ball screaming past the keeper for a goal to even the game.
The teams went into the half tied at 1-1, but the Warriors grabbed their first lead of the night in the 58th minute as Garcia once again used his impressive footwork and speed to find an opening and shoot one over the keeper’s outstretched arms and into the net for a goal.
Coosa continued to create runs offensively and were rewarded when a foul in the box created a penalty kick opportunity. Gavin Williams stepped to the spot and converted for a goal to tie the game and eventually force overtime
neither team could gain an advantage throughout the rest of regulation.
In the two 10-minute overtime sessions, each team had quality chances as Gordon Central’s Garcia had a shot ricochet off the crossbar early in the second overtime period, and Coosa had a couple shots that were narrowly saved or kicked out by the Warriors in the closing seconds of the second period.
With the game sent to be decided on penalty kicks, Gordon Central’s Allen Garcia, Richard Barrios and Brayan Rico stepped up and converted their team’s first three attempts. Coosa’s first attempt was denied by Sanchez, and the second attempt missed the goal. The Eagles made their third attempt, which was taken by Jose Chavez, but Gordon Central’s Charley Garcia followed with the clincher on the fourth kick to send his team into a region championship celebration.
“I thought if it went to PKs we had an advantage because we’ve got the best goalkeeper in the region,” said Gordon Central head coach Matt Wiley. “He makes great saves and constantly comes through for us under duress. Once he made that first save I felt really good about it.
“Coosa is a phenomenal soccer team, and it was a great game. For it to go into penalty kicks, we definitely went out with a bang. My guys were absolutely clutch tonight, and I’m so proud of them.”
Gordon Central will play a nonregion game Tuesday at Calhoun starting at 7 p.m. in their final tune-up before the Class AA state tournament, which starts April 15. Both Gordon Central and Coosa will host first-round opponents. That will be the Eagles’ next game as they have no more regular-season contests remaining.