Staring desperation in the face, the Kentlake High boys soccer team pulled out all the stops Friday night against Kentridge.
Down 2-1 with less than a minute remaining on the clock, the Falcons needed a little bit from everybody on the field to simply scratch out a tie.
In a frantic finish, Kentlake sophomore Gunner Terrio found the back of the net with 15 seconds remaining, helping the Falcons work a 2-2 tie against the Chargers in a South Puget Sound League North Division game at French Field.
“We had all 11 guys (on the field) in their box at that point,” explained Kentlake coach Kyle Jones. “It was a big goal. It was a hustle play. The ball was bouncing around the box and (Gunner) did his part.”
In the midst of players, Terrio’s goal came from roughly six yards out.
And it could not have come at a more opportune time. The top five teams from the SPSL North advance to the postseason. The SPSL does not go to shootouts during the regular season. As such, ties are worth one point in the standings while a win is worth three. The one point helped the Falcons, who entered the week in sixth place of the standings, remain in contention for one of the playoff berths.
“It was big to see that our kids aren’t giving up and they’re playing hard to the very end,” Jones said. “But we’re not going to make the playoffs tying. If we’re going to make the playoffs, we need to go out winning.”
Kentlake ends the season with three games in the next eight days. Kentlake plays Tahoma Friday, Mount Rainier next Tuesday and concludes the regular season against Jefferson on Friday, May 6. The tie helped Kentlake improve to 4-5-3 with 15 points, which put Falcons four points behind Mount Rainier for fifth place entering the week.
Andrew Miccile scored Kentlake’s other goal on an assist from Mitchell Haberle in the 13th minute. Sam Piehler, who has been one of the North’s top players all season long, collected both of Kentridge’s goal.
The tie proved to be heartbreaking for the Chargers, especially considering how it happened.
“The frustrating thing is that it’s the same thing that happened in the same spot (against) Kentwood,” lamented Kentridge coach Glenn Walrond, pointing to a 2-1 loss to the Conquerors just three days earlier. “We have played very well starting with the (Thomas Jefferson) tie, and to lose the points the way we did was maddening.”
The tie put Kentridge at 2-6-4 with 10 points and in eighth place entering the week.
Despite the end result, the playoffs remain a possibility, Walrond noted.
“If we win out, we have a good shot,” he said.
• ALSO: Kentwood continued to keep its grip on the top spot in the South Puget Sound League North Division last week, picking up a 2-1 victory over Kentridge. Kentwood’s Keaton Gray scored what proved to be the winning goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the game. It was Kentwood’s fourth win in a row and helped the Conquerors improve to 8-0-3 in league play, four points ahead of second-place Thomas Jefferson (7-2-2) entering play Tuesday, April 26. The top five teams in the North advance to the postseason. Kentwood has beaten Jefferson twice already this season and, as such, holds the tiebreaker with the Raiders. … Kent-Meridian continued to struggle to find the back of the net last week, falling to Kentlake 4-0 and Auburn 3-1. Ta Say delivered K-M’s lone goal against the Trojans in the 33rd minute on an assist from Ephraim Elongo. The losses dropped the Royals to 0-12-0 in league play. … Tahoma continued to be one of the stingiest teams in the North last week, allowing just one goal in a pair of games. However, the Bears were only able to manage a split of their two games as they knocked off Mount Rainier 1-0 on April 19, but followed up with a 1-0 loss to Auburn Riverside. Tahoma’s Jordan Downing delivered an unassisted goal in the 66th minute to help the Bears seal the win over the Rams. Nick Brown earned the shutout in goal. Three days later, Tahoma was unable to get anything going offensively in a loss to Auburn Riverside. Auburn Riverside’s Yoni Hernandez found the back of the net in the 39th minute on an assist from Dylan Vickers for the game’s lone goal. Tahoma entered the week at 6-3-2 with 20 points, just three points behind second-place Thomas Jefferson.
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