A tie was better than a loss.(Sarah Neltner’20/Media)
On Wednesday, September 11, the Columbus Academy boys soccer team traveled to Wellington for its biggest game of the season. Large student sections flooded the bleachers for the highly anticipated match.
Following an initial go at the goal by Academy, Wellington maintained possession for the majority of the first half, consistently misfiring over the goal or into the hands of keeper Luke Budzik’s’21.
The Vikings made the most of the few opportunities they had, getting shots on goal and forcing a save from Wellington’s goalie. Both sides’ defenses prevented goals, leading to a scoreless first half.
The second half started off similarly to the first, but Academy was finally converted a goal following a long through ball from captain Charlie Mueller’20 into a mosh pit of players from both teams. After some shoving near the net, Sam Massick’20 threw his hands up, signalling a goal for Mueller as the ball just rolled over the line.
For the final thirty minutes, Academy put its all into preventing countless Jaguar opportunities, and in the final minute the CA student section poured out of the bleachers onto the edge of the field, ready to storm it as the buzzer sounded. But Wellington hadn’t given up yet. With 20 seconds remaining, the Jaguars sped down the field for one last attempt. A Jauguar midfielder hit a beautiful pass to the left striker, who kicked an impossible goal just over Budzik’s head to tie the game 1-1 in the final seconds.
The Vikes loaded onto the buses, frustrated yet ready to redeem themselves at Johnathan Alder on Saturday, September 14.
In a fast-paced game centered around defense, both teams traded opportunities before Massick scored with around ten minutes left in the first half.
The game stayed even throughout the second half, and it looked as if the Vikes would be walking away with a victory before a questionable penalty was called in the box with one second left in the game. Alder struck a penalty kick, and tied the game up in the last second, resulting in a 1-1 final score.
The team looks to wash away these two crushing ties with two games in the coming week, going to Westerville South on Thursday, September 19 before hosting Bloom Carrol on Saturday, September 21.
