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: NIsportsTigers fall in overtime
Published: November 4, 2009
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larry deklinski/Staff Photos Southern Columbia's Dante Anskis (15) and East Juniata's Tyler Inch battle for control of the ball during their District 4 Class A semifinal match Tuesday night at Middleburg.
MIDDLEBURG - With time running out in the second overtime, East Juniata forward Brandon Dressler got the ball deep in Southern Columbia's territory one on one against a Southern defender. He put on one little deke move, saw his first option wasn't there and crossed the ball toward the goal, hoping a teammate was in the vicinity.
One was.
Trey Marker took the ball cleanly and shot it into the net by the outstretched arms of Southern Columbia goalkeeper Kurt Kessler, and just like that, Southern's undefeated season came to an end, 2-1, Tuesday in the District Four Class A semifinals. Southern, the top seed in the tournament, ended the season 19-1 and will not advance to the state tournament. East Juniata, 16-3-1, will play Benton, a 1-0 winner in penalty kicks against Lewisburg in the other semifinal.
Southern wriggled its way out of several East Juniata scoring opportunities in the two overtimes, but seeing the ball between Dressler's legs on a one-on-one with a minute-and-a-half left before penalty kicks was probably not what Southern coach Jon Joseph wanted to see at that time, since Dressler was likely the top playmaker on the field.
Joseph, however, wasn't elaborating on the point. He offered no comment to a reporter after the game.
For his part, Dressler said he wasn't so sure of his chance.
"I was trying to get the goal line, and he (the defender) didn't let me have it, and then I just crossed it," Dressler said. "i didn't know he (Marker) was there. I was just hoping someone was."
The official time of the goal was 108 minutes, 29 seconds, and both teams were obviously starting to flag a a little.
The game was played in distinct segments.
East Juniata forced the action in the first half, with a 4-1 shot advantage, and took a 1-0 lead on Dressler's goal, with a feed from Nathan Troup, at the 27:39 mark.
Southern was the better team in the second half, with an identical 4-1 shot advantage, and got the tying goal by Colton Yeick with 13:17 remaining, after a nice drive to the right corner and cross by Brian Snyder.
But East Juniata outshot Southern 7-0 in the two overtimes and put pressure on Kessler, who made two outstanding saves during the extra periods, one on a shot by Marker and another on a direct kick, one of several East Juniata had in the overtimes in a game that was marked by physical play and four yellow cards, two given to each team.
"We just totally dominated play in the two overtimes," said East Juniata coach Don Troutman. "We were a little flat in the second half, but I thought we picked it up a little in the last five minutes of the half. We were tired, they were tired. That was a great game.
"We knew the boys would keep pecking away. We didn't keep the pressure up in the second half as well as we did in the first. But Southern has some really good kids up top, too, and some real speed on the outside. Ryan (East Juniata goalkeeper Ryan Swartwood) had a great game."
Kessler probably had a better game, with nine saves, but in the end, he faced one shot too many.
East Juniata 2, Southern Columbia 1 OT
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