Brainerd's season ends in shoot-out
BOYS' SOCCER
BAXTER - Injuries led to the St. Cloud Tech Tigers winning only four regular-season games and receiving the fifth seed in the Section 8-2A tournament.
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The injured players have returned and the underestimated Tigers stunned the fourth-seeded Brainerd Warriors 3-2 in a shoot-out in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Southdale Field.
Brainerd goalkeeper Matt Sather tried to stop a shot fired by St. Cloud Tech during a shoot-out in the Section 8-2A soccer quarterfinals Saturday in Baxter.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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Following a 2-2 stalemate in regulation the teams played two scoreless 10-minute overtimes, resulting in a shoot-out, during which each team selects five players to shoot penalty kicks against the other's keeper.
In the shoot-out, Tech scored on three of its first four attempts while the Warriors scored only once, giving the Tigers an insurmountable edge and negating the final shoot-out round.
"We knew that when Brainerd came to St. Cloud they beat us 4-zip," Tech coach Nantha Viswanathan said. "We had to come prepared for this game. We knew it was going to be a tough game, playing on their home field. My boys really practiced hard and we're set to go and face Elk River in the next game (Tuesday)."
Tech 3, Warriors 2 (shoot-out)
The key: The Tigers scored three times in a shoot-out while Brainerd scored once.
Overall: Brd finishes 9-6-1, SCT 5-9-3
The loss ended Brainerd's season with a 9-6-1 record. Warriors coach Cahil Collins conceded the shoot-out puts pressure on a team's keeper.
"Matt Sather stepped up," Collins said. "He did a nice job. It's just the way it works out. It's unfortunate, but there has to be a winner because (someone has to) move on."
In the shoot-out, Brainerd's Jordan Posch was stopped by Tigers keeper Bob Simson before Tech's Joseph Rose Jr. scored.
Simson then stopped Ethan Nichols by tipping the shot over the goal. Sather then saved a shot by Elias Fark.
In round three, Brainerd's Chris Nathan kicked a laser into the upper right corner to tie the shoot-out 1-1. But Andrew Nardi put Tech back in front 2-1 as he deked Sather to the left and scored into the left corner.
The Warriors' Coyer Mackner hit the crossbar in round four before Andrew Mavetz won it for Tech when his shot bounced in off Sather's hands.
"My hat's off to Brainerd," Viswanathan said. "They played their hearts out. They're a great team. I've seen those guys play for the last three years while I've been coaching and I knew they had some good-caliber players on the team."
The defeat was difficult for Brainerd to accept since it had shut out the Tigers Sept. 21.
"Unless you're the state champion you always end with a loss, which is disappointing," Collins said. "It's a little more disappointing because we should have beat these guys. During the game we had opportunities we could have finished."
The Warriors had to scrape back from a 2-0 deficit as Tech's Giovanni Meggiorini tallied twice in the first 25 minutes.
Brainerd's Ethan Nichols took a shot during the shoot-out in the Section 8-2A boys' soccer quarterfinal Saturday against St. Cloud Tech.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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Jake Williams brought Brainerd back, scoring both of his team's goals, the first at 27:23 from a sharp angle on the short side, the second at 44:53 on a penalty kick.
"Our players came out kind of flat," Collins said. "We had opportunities to score, we just didn't capitalize on them.
"It's a disappointing loss. We wanted to go on. We should have beat this team. We beat them 4-0 in the past so it's a disappointing finish. The guys are disappointed."
Brainerd's defense was hampered by injury.
Zach Dehning missed the game because of illness. With about 22 minutes left in regulation, Cam Swanson was hit in the face during a scrum in front on a Tech corner kick and crumpled to the turf. The game was delayed about 30 minutes before he was taken from the field on a stretcher by emergency personnel and transported to the hospital via ambulance.
"Actually, he blacked out for a moment," Collins said.
St. Cloud Tech 2 0 1 - 3
Brainerd 1 1 0 - 2
First half: SCT-Giovanni Meggiorini, 11:30; SCT-Meggiorini, 24:47; Brd-Jake Williams (Chris Nathan) 27:23
Second half: Brd-Williams, 44:53
First overtime: No scoring
Second overtime: No scoring
Shoot-out: SCT-Joseph Rose, Brd-Chris Nathan, SCT-Andrew Nardi, SCT-Andrew Mavetz
Shots on goal: SCT 4-8-0-0-12, Brd 2-3-2-0-7
Goalkeepers: SCT, Bob Simson (5 saves); Brd, Matt Sather (10 saves)
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.