Oh. My. Goodness. What a GAME!

In the second round of playoffs, the Clark Cougars took on the Churchill Chargers at Gus Stadium. The Charges were (past tense, were!) ranked #1 and played their hearts out but it wasn’t enough to take down Clark.

In a nail biter of a first half, Clark got the first goal, with freshman Javi Martinez clearing the Chargers keeper and pounding the ball into the net. Not to be outdone, the Chargers came back soon after and tied it up, 1-1. And so it went, with senior Gus Moir giving an assist to junior Tristan Cavazos who then nailed the corner of the net, bringing it up to 2-1. Churchill soon tied it up again, 2-2. Next, Churchill got the upper hand by adding another goal, making it 2-3. Clark came roaring back with a goal from senior Chris Pantaleon, 3-3. And so the half ended with the parents and fans – tons attended, by the way – chanting for Clark.

In the second half, the two teams attacked, attacked, attacked. Senior Gus Moir put one in the net off of a corner, only to have the ref called it offsides. On another corner, Moir again had a good shot, back heading the ball nearly into the net. Senior Chris Pantaleon got close again, getting just enough of the post to miss the goal. After a heavy back and forth, regulation time ended at 3-3.

In overtime, played in two 10-minute halves, the fierce play continued but without any scoring, ending the game at 3-3 and forcing Penalty Kicks (PKs). These were played 5 apiece with each team taking shots in turn. Clark’s sophomore Jake Peterson, junior Diego Sepulveda and junior Tristan Cavazos scored in Clark’s first 3 attempts while the Charger’s missed their first two – one shot wide and one on a great save by Senior Preston Campbell. If Clark scored one more shot, or if Churchill missed their third shot, it would be over and in Clark’s favor. However, Clark missed their final two attempts, and Churchill made their final 3, putting the teams again tied. Did I tell you this was quite a game?

Now in sudden death PKs, Clark and Churchill took the field. Both scored on their first attempts, with junior Matt Jacobs scoring for Clark and amping up the tension. In the next round, Clark scored off of senior Nick O’Malley and Campbell, again with a HUGE save, stopped what would be Churchill’s final attempt. Senior Preston Campbell, the Cougars’ keeper, is to be commended for his fortitude in defending the Cougars’ goal. Clark wins 5-4!!

Churchill played with everything they had but Clark now advances to the next round of playoffs – Clark vs McArthur on Tuesday at 7:30 at Comalander Stadium (Blossom Sports Complex – NEISD).

It’s a GREAT day to be a Clark Cougar!

By Caryn Moir