Washington defeats Croatan, advances to quarterfinals

Published 11:09 pm Wednesday, November 5, 2014

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS PRESSURE ON: Washington soccer players line up at midfield and look on as their teammates try to send them to the quarterfinals of the 2-A state playoffs.

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS
PRESSURE ON: Washington soccer players line up at midfield and look on as their teammates try to send them to the quarterfinals of the 2-A state playoffs.

Wednesday’s third round playoff matchup between No. 5-seeded Washington and No. 13 Croatan played out like a script not even the soccer gods could have written.

Dynamic defense counterbalanced by ostentatious offense, the difference being a strategic substitution at the end of regulation, the unlikeliest of saves in overtime and a bit of late-match magic in penalty kicks.

In the end, it was the Washington faithful, there to support a soccer team that had won 18-straight games, who found themselves frantically hopping the chain-link barrier, charging onto the field to celebrate a come-from-behind win in the final home game of 2014.

“Both teams were playing really hard. I felt confident that if we put one in the back of the net, we’d have a really good chance,” said head coach Jim Kozuch. “We were extremely excited to put one in. It couldn’t have been more of a train wreck of a game.”

Croatan, a team that finished second in the East Central Conference, entered with a 15-6-2 record and one of the top defenses in Class 2-A, limiting opponents to just one goal per game. It was a back line that would not disappoint.

Forwards Sergio Higuera and Kyle Hodges created a handful of opportunities in the first half, but a hardnosed defense continued to frustrate runs and force errant shots. A 25-yard strike from sophomore midfielder Eric Ruiz six minutes into the match was the only one that required a save from Croatan goalie Zach Tracy.

Fifteen minutes into the half, Cougars forward Nathan Marks found himself on the receiving end of a through ball, one that ignited a one-on-one with goalie William Tate. The Pam Pack keeper extended and made the save, but it was hardly his finest of the match.

With just 10 combined shots through the first 40 minutes, neither team could find the back of the net. However, a controversial call made by the far sideline referee changed the landscape of the game just three minutes into the second half.

Defender William Page elevated to divert a cross and bumped into an oncoming midfielder in the box. The assistant referee signaled for a penalty kick and junior J.T. Dupree slipped a shot to the right of Tate, putting Croatan up 1-0.

As time ticked away, the momentum shifted in the visiting team’s favor. The Cougars played possession soccer in the midfield and kept the ball away from the Pam Pack forwards. With 17 minutes remaining, Kozuch subbed in Ben McKeithan, a sophomore junior varsity midfielder and brother of senior defender Holt McKeithan.

Ben McKeithan took the throw-in and launched the ball 30-yards into the Croatan box, finding his brother, who headed it down and toed a shot past the goalie.

Both teams would exchange possessions over the final 15 minutes, but the score remained knotted at one goal apiece at the end of regulation.

In the first 10-minute overtime period, midfielder Lupe Barrera started things off with a bender from 30-yards out that almost slipped through Tracy’s hands. Croatan continued to play for possession and in the second overtime, the Cougars came centimeters from a game-winning goal.

With three minutes left in the period, Dupree found an opening and flicked a shot past the lunging Washington keeper. The ball caromed off the goal post and bounced across the goal line. Tate got back on his feet, threw himself at the ball and made an awkward, unconventional and game-winning behind the back save, one that spared the Pam Pack’s season.

Opportunities were limited in the third and fourth overtime periods, both five-minutes each and golden goal format. A spot in the quarterfinals would be decided in penalty kicks.

Dupree hit. Hodges answered. Then three-consecutive misses were followed by four-straight makes. Miguel Hernandez stepped to the line with a chance to seal the win and hit a nicely placed shot, but Tracy came through with the acrobatic save. After a few more series, eventually a Croatan player missed and, appropriately enough, the same player who saved the Pam Pack in regulation stepped to the line with a chance to win it.

Playing off the crowd’s cheers, Holt McKeithan eyed the ball, the ref and then the goalie, and then hit the shot to send Washington to the quarterfinals.

“It means the whole world,” Kozuch said. “We’ve had a lot of those games where we were able to walk away with it. This one, we had to fight to the end. It tested our limits.”

The victory puts to rest the memory of last season’s heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Carrboro in the third round, a game where the Pam Pack watched its two-goal lead slip away in the second half.

And, oddly enough, while one unforgettable finish was wrapping up in Washington, No. 1-seeded First Flight narrowly escaped an upset at the hands of No. 25 East Duplin. The Nighthawks won 2-1 in overtime to remain undefeated on the season (22-0-1).

Washington, who opened its season with a 5-2 loss to First Flight, will look to continue its historic run on Saturday in Kill Devil Hills.

“The last thing I said to First Flight (head coach Juan Ramirez after the game) was, ‘I hope we see you again this year.’ And I think we’ll be there.”