<p>At times, it seemed as though Thursday night’s boys soccer standoff between Whiteland and Franklin was bound to go on forever.</p>
<p>The host Grizzly Cubs rallied from an early three-goal deficit to pull ahead in the second half, only to see the Warriors force overtime and come away with the victory in a wild back-and-forth affair, taking the penalty-kick shootout by a 4-3 margin after the match ended in a 4-4 stalemate.</p>
<p>The shootout was knotted at 2-2 through three rounds, with Griffin Atkison and Yobany Lopez Perez scoring for Franklin and Tristan Thomas and David Mathis answering for the Warriors (5-3-2, 3-1).</p>
<p>Whiteland sophomore goalie Nolan Ferguson then saved an Aaron Richards shot in the fourth round, and Trevor Pike followed with the go-ahead tally. Colin Haveman’s score in the fifth and final round gave the Grizzly Cubs a chance, but Riccardo Sicchiero responded with the decisive kick.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>"Freedom," Sicchiero said of his thoughts standing over his last shot. "It was a very long match, so we were very happy to win."</p>
<p>The Warriors put together an impressive flurry early in the first half to take the lead, scoring three times in a 4:14 span.</p>
<p>Pike punched home the first Whiteland goal, running onto a perfect lead pass from Sicchiero and sending a shot right to left in the eighth minute.</p>
<p>A little more than two minutes later, Sicchiero popped a header up into the air that managed to slip between the crossbar and the outstretched arms of Franklin keeper Jack Henderson. Pike took another through ball and found the net for the second time just 11:28 into the half.</p>
<p>"The first 10 minutes was the best soccer that we have played all year," Warriors coach Justin VanHorn said.</p>
<p>The Grizzly Cubs (5-2, 2-1) responded less than two minutes later when Owen Mahin scored on a header that Henderson was able to tip but not stop, but that single goal was all that the host side could muster before the break.</p>
<p>But Franklin rallied early in the second half. Senior Owen Mahin converted a penalty kick six and a half minutes in following a Whiteland hand ball in the box to make it 3-2, and Lopez Perez tied the match with 28:20 remaining when he beat the Warrior defense to a loose ball on the left side of the goal and found nylon.</p>
<p>"They came out gangbusters at the half," VanHorn said. "I told our guys we were going to have to weather the storm, because they were going to come out full speed, and they did."</p>
<p>Lopez Perez then knocked in the go-ahead score on a rebound with 18:26 to go, but the lead lasted less than two minutes as Sicchiero banged home a short-range shot on the other end to even it back up.</p>
<p>Both sides had serious game-winning chances late in regulation, but neither could finish. The only serious threat in either overtime period came when Ferguson turned away a point-blank laser from Atkison with 45 seconds left.</p>
<p>"Our goalkeeper is one of the best in the state — I truly believe that," VanHorn said of Ferguson. "He made some huge saves for us and got us a huge conference win. All the props to Franklin, man; they’re a solid squad. We just survived this one."</p>
