By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
After enduring more than a decade of not advancing past the first round of the sectional tournament, Greenwood found itself up 1-0 over Southport in the waning minutes of their Class 3A sectional championship matchup, less than five minutes away from clinching a spot in the regional.
The Woodmen defended the relentless attacks from Southport valiantly, and Braden Reynolds continued to make huge saves throughout the game to prevent the Cardinals from scoring on multiple occasions.
But Greenwood could not defend forever, and Southport scored late in regulation and found a winner in overtime to clinch the 2-1 victory.
“We had a game plan to be defensively resolute,” Greenwood coach Dan Priscu said. “We kind of switched from our usual tactics, but it just involved being deeper and more together. Really, it was we knew that we needed to make our chances count. Both squads fought until the very end. It was a battle.”
The Woodmen (7-7-4) scored their lone goal in the 21st minute of the game after Landon Holt chipped a ball through the defense to find Emmanuel Jackson open in the box.
As Greenwood continued to park the bus on defense, a wave of frustration started to flow through the Southport players and fans as the Cardinals were unable to capitalize on any of the countless corner kicks they won throughout the game.
“We were very confident in our ability to win corners this year,” Priscu said. “Braden has been amazing, going from strength to strength and continuously evolving. And this group of seniors in the back line especially have been all in.”
In the closing minutes, Southport (8-7-3) began sending more and more players forward to try and find the equalizing goal to save its season, and Greenwood promptly responded by finding ways to keep the clock ticking in their favor. A late free kick from the Woodmen threatened to score again, but a goal-line save kept the Cardinals breathing.
Southport found another lifeline in the 77th minute after a Greenwood defender handled the ball in the box, leading to a late penalty, the kind of shot every player hopes for. Southport’s top scorer, Dieu Ebuela, stepped up to take the penalty, but hit it off the outside of the post. The Cardinals kept pushing through the setback and Juan Sanchez found the equalizing goal in the 79th minute, causing the Southport faithful to erupt with relief.
The overtime periods of the game showed no difference from the first 80 minutes of the game, and a revitalized Southport team found its second goal via a Joshua Antunez header late in the first overtime period.
Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Priscu is proud of the bar that his departing seniors have helped set over their careers, with the last two seasons perhaps the best in Greenwood’s history.
“This graduating class has gotten to a great level and helped bring the rest of the team up to that level,” the coach said. “This is the standard now. The message is we need to make sure that this is not over, and we never let that standard drop.”
