By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
OAK GROVE – If Hollywood had been writing the script Tuesday night, then Josh Goodwin would have been the hero for Oak Grove.
The freshman back-up goalkeeper for the Warriors was pressed into service after starter Zach Metz left the game with an injury early in the second half against Brandon in the first round of the Class 6A soccer playoffs, and he performed admirably.
But Hollywood wasn’t scripting this game, and Goodwin’s effort wasn’t enough as Oak Grove went down to defeat in a penalty-kick shootout after the two teams played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime.
Brandon (10-4-2) advanced to the second round of the playoffs, hosting Ocean Springs on Saturday. The Warriors finished their season 15-3-1.
“It’s like every game we ever have with them,” said Warrior coach Jess Lang. “It always comes down to something like that.”
The Warriors came out strong at the start, and got on the scoreboard quickly, in the seventh minute of play when senior Elean Fajardo sent a perfect crossing pass to fellow senior Walker Fairey coming in from the right side of the goal.
Fajardo, Oak Grove’s leading scorer, drew Bulldog keeper Mason Walker to the left side, leaving the net open for Fairey to convert the shot.
Unfortunately, it would be the only time that a Warrior kick would find the back of the net.
“We knew in order to beat them we were going to have to finish goals,” said Lang. “We moved the ball around and got it right where we wanted it, and just did not finish well in front of the goal.”
The Warriors also had some bad luck. Just three minutes after the goal, Oak Grove banged an open shot off the right post, and the Warriors also had a shot hit off the crossbar in overtime.
Oak Grove’s worst luck came in the 46th minute, when Metz stopped an errant shot, then collided with a Brandon player and hit his head on the turf.
Metz was able to walk off the field on his own power after several minutes on the ground, but he was unable to return to the game. Lang didn’t hesitate turning care of the goal over to Goodwin.
“Oh, he was great,” said Lang of his freshman keeper. “He’s a freshman, but he’s been a goalie his whole life. He’s the kind of athlete that we can play in the field if we needed him to. He’s played in a lot of games for us.”
Metz appeared to suffer a concussion and Lang said he never considered bringing the junior back into the game.
“It was a concussion, I think,” said Lang. “Their player landed on his head and slammed his head on the ground. He had all the indications of a concussion. He thought he was good enough to come back in, but you just don’t take any chances with those kinds of things.”
Goodwin was strong on his first opportunity, on a free kick deep in the Warriors’ zone in the 50th minute.
However, he was helpless a few minutes later when Brandon’s Hardy Lewis got free on a breakaway, beat the diving Goodwin to the ball and stuck a shot into the open net for the tying goal in the 59th minute.
“One of our midfielders had the ball, and he had a player running that he should have made the pass to, but he held it a little too long,” said Lang. “It got kicked down there, then one of our defenders slipped, and their guy just stuck it straight in.”
Both teams had some opportunities to score in the remaining time, and in the overtime periods, but Lang said he thought the Warriors got out of their game plan.
“Our game is to pass the ball around, get it in front of the goal and take shots,” said Lang. “But there were we played longball with them. We’d kick it down to their keeper and he’d kick it 80 yards down here.
“We got frustrated not being able to finish and got out of what wanted to do.”
Oak Grove finished play with 26 shots, 11 on-goal, to 20 shots and six on-goal for Brandon, and the Warriors also had more corner kicks than the Bulldogs by an 8-5 margin.
But the shootout was all Brandon, as the Bulldogs converted three of four shots, while Walker stopped all three of Oak Grove’s attempts.
“I don’t know, maybe it was fatigue,” said Lang. “We had the same group for a shootout against George County and they nailed all of them. And Josh got his hands on two of PKs and had chances on them.
”It’s been a great season. These seniors – and we only had four – have been great leaders, and we’ll have a good group coming back next season.”
The Oak Grove girls also saw their season come to an end, as the went down to a 3-2 defeat. The Lady Warriors fell behind 3-0 midway through the second half, then rallied in the final 10 minutes of play, but it was too little, too late.
“We made an adjustment with about 15 minutes to play that we would go with just three defenders and add an extra attacker, and that seemed to give us a spark,” said Lady Warriors coach Clay Smith. “But it’s awfully tough to come back from a 3-0 deficit.”
Brandon (13-1-2) struck for its first goal in the 22nd minute after Oak Grove (17-6) committed a foul just outside the 18-yard box directly in front of the goal. Alyssia Davis took the free kick, which deflected off the foot of Bailey Raphelt into the net.
In the 43rd minute, the speedy Davis broke clear after a throw-in and beat Oak Grove goalkeeper Jaydn Cunningham with an open shot. Raphelt got the third goal in the 62nd minute off another throw-in.
Oak Grove’s comeback started after the Lady Warriors started getting more pressure with their new alignment, getting a shot on-goal and a near miss off a pair of free kicks in rapid succession.
In the 72nd minute, Oak Grove was fouled inside the box, and Zylah Mulligan successfully converted the resulting penalty kick.
Seconds after a Brandon goal was waved off because of an offsides call, senior Minali Patton converted a free kick from Mulligan into a goal from 30 yards out, making it a one-goal game in the 78th minute.
However, the Lady Warriors were unable to score the equalizer in the remaining time.
“They’re really tough,” said Smith of Brandon. “They play hard, they hustle, they’re good in the air and (Davis) is the fastest player we’ve seen all year. My two fastest players are back there, and she was still able to create a lot with her speed.”
The Brandon girls will also host Ocean Springs Saturday in the second round of the playoffs.
Prep Soccer Summaries
MHSAA State Tournament
Class 6A First Round
Tuesday at Warrior Field
GIRLS
Brandon 3, Oak Grove 2
Brandon 1 2 – 3
Oak Grove 0 2 – 2
BRANDON (13-1-2): Bailey Raphelt (Alyssia Davis), 22nd minute; Alyssia Davis (Mallory Koegel), 43rd minute; K’Lee Pittman (Bailey Raphelt), 62nd minute. GK – Skylar Varnes, 5 saves. Shots (on-goal) – 17 (8). Corner kicks – 2.
OAK GROVE (17-6-0): Zylah Mulligan (PK), 72nd minute; Minali Patton (Zylah Mulligan), 78th minute. GK – Jadyn Cunningham, 5 saves. Shots (on-goal) – 16 (7). Corner kicks – 0.
BOYS
Brandon 1, Oak Grove 1 (Brandon wins shootout 3-0)
Brandon 0 1 0 0 – 1
Oak Grove 1 0 0 0 – 1
BRANDON (10-4-2): Hardy Lewis (unassisted), 59th minute. GK – Mason Walker, 8 saves. Shots (on-goal) – 20 (6). Corner kicks – 5. Shootout goals – Will Ballenger, Hayden Humphries, Jireh Green.
OAK GROVE (15-3-1): Walker Fairey (Elean Fajardo), 7th minute. GK – Zach Metz, 2 saves; Josh Goodwin (46th minute), 3 saves. Shots (on-goal) – 26 (11). Corner kicks – 8. Shootout goals – none.
