The El Campo Ricebirds dream soccer season continues after beating East Chambers in penalty kicks after 100 minutes of play at Legacy Stadium Friday afternoon.
El Campo had heart, giving full effort until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
"How can you not be romantic about what just happened? It's wild what just happend," Ricebird coach Audie Jackson said. "Allen High School just did it last week in the last two seconds. You come out here and you're sitting on the sidelines and you're praying that it happens for you too and it ends up happening, it's a crazy feeling."
Trailing 1-0, Ricebird junior Ray Morneo drew a foul with 15 seconds left on the 15-yard line on the far sideline. East Chambers needed one more clear to end the Ricebirds season for the second year in a row. However, Moreno lifted the ball finding sophomore Andre Martinez who headed the ball into the back of the net tying the game in the very last seconds.
Both defenses kept the game tied throughout the two 10-minute overtime periods, setting up a plenty kick finale.
El Campo started the plenty kicks with a successful goal from Ricebird junior Deigo Gutierrez kicking the ball high down the middle.
With the lead, Ricebird senior goalkeeper Rhenner Spenrath set the tone, blocking East Chambers's first attempt. Spenrath chose the right direction, but the East Chamers kick beat him to the corner of the net, so he flung his foot out knocking the ball away.
El Campo made two of their next three attempts, with sophomore Daniel Mendez and Morneo scoring. East Chambers made two of their next three shots, to make it 3-2 with one shot left.
Ricebird senior Alexis Salazar stepped up to take a kick, but a miss and an East Chambers make, would send the game into sudden death via penalty kicks.
Salazar kicked the ball to the left, and the goalie went left, but the ball was quicker and went into the back of the net, sending El Campo to the regional finals.
El Campo will play the winner of Calhoun, a district opponent, and Lumberton, who play later Friday evening. The Region IV finale will take place back at Legacy Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday with the winner earning a trip to state.
"We had a great turnout (Friday) in the pouring rain," Jackson said. "We had a ton of people there, they were loud and supportive and it was awesome to have out there. We're hoping to get just as many (fans) if not more."
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.