Serra edges Aptos in a rollercoaster ride of twists, turns that ended in penalty kicks, advances to Central Coast Section Division II semifinals.
Serra coach Mike Keller was on the bus ride home to San Mateo as he recounted all that unfolded on the soccer field against Aptos on Saturday.
The twists and turns were gut-wrenching, thrilling and perhaps even maddening, to say the least, but Serra ultimately survived after 80 minutes of regulation, 20 minutes of overtime and five rounds of penalty kicks.
The Padres will move on to the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals on Wednesday after winning the penalty-kick shootout 4-3. The teams played to a 2-2 tie in regulation and were even 4-4 after two 10-minute overtime sessions.
“Man, that was a barnburner,” Keller said. “What a game. The fans got more than their money’s worth today, I’ll tell you that.”
Let’s pick up the action at the start of the second half.
Trailing 1-0, Serra pulled even 1-1 on a goal by Will Hirsch.
After Aptos reclaimed the advantage, Nate Coughlin scored on an assist by Edward Velazquez to tie it at 2-2 with about 15 minutes left.
The score didn’t change for the remainder of regulation, sending the match to overtime.
Aptos scored in the first OT period to take a 3-2 lead. But Serra answered again, this time on a goal by Velazquez in the second OT session.
The visitors took the lead, 4-3, with four minutes left in OT on another goal by Coughlin.
But just when it looked as if the final chapter had been written in this thriller, Aptos scored on the final play of OT to force penalty kicks.
“Both teams played excellent,” Keller said. “I’ve been in a couple of OT games like that. I don’t think I’ve been in one where they scored in the last second to send the game to PKs. I don’t think I’ve been involved in one of those.”
How did Serra regroup for PKs?
“You know, we practiced penalties a lot this week,” Keller said, adding that the team prepared senior goalkeeper Jacob Kohlmeister specifically for PKs. Rafael Steinberger handled the goal keeping duties during the game.
“He was ready,” Keller said about Kohlmeister. “He saved the first two and that gave us a lot of confidence. The guys knew they had to do their best to make one. Due credit to our guys for being really mentally strong and to Jacob for jumping into the penalties and making saves.”
Justin Hollister’s PK ended the match, sending Serra into the semifinals on Wednesday against top-seeded Westmont or eighth-seeded Hollister.
Serra will think about the next round later. The Padres wanted to celebrate the win Saturday first.
“This time of the year, these guys have fought so hard through our league, we want to let them enjoy the moment,” Keller said. “They fought so hard today against a good opponent. Got to enjoy these moments.”
CCS Division I
No. 2 Archbishop Mitty 3, No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep 2
Senior Jordan Geis scored two goals and Kiki Vostermans had one as perennial powerhouse Mitty opened the CCS playoffs at home on Saturday with a victory over Sacred Heart Prep.
The Monarchs advance to the semifinals Wednesday against third-seeded Leigh or sixth-seeded St. Ignatius.
Division I boys
No. 6 Carlmont at No. 3 Archbishop Mitty
No. 7 Alisal at No. 2 Mountain View
No. 5 Leigh at No. 4 Burlingame, 5 p.m.
No. 8 Lincoln-San Jose at No. 1 St. Francis
Division I girls
No. 6 St. Ignatius at No. 3 Leigh, 5 p.m.
No. 2 Archbishop Mitty 3, No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep 2
No, 4 Sequoia 3, No. 5 Los Altos 1
No. 1 St. Francis 4, No. 8 Burlingame 0
Division II boys
No. 6 Fremont-Sunnyvale at No. 3 Los Gatos, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Aragon at No. 2 Menlo School
No. 5 Serra 4, No. 4 Aptos 4 (Serra 4-3 PKs)
No. 8 Hollister at No. 1 Westmont
Division II girls
No. 6 Homestead at No. 3 Salinas, 5 p.m.
No. 7 Aptos at No. 2 Leland, 5 p.m.
No 5 Aragon at No. 4 Woodside
No. 8 Pioneer at No. 1 Mountain View, 6 p.m.
Division I boys
No. 8 Clayton Valley Charter at No. 1 De La Salle, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Bishop O’Dowd at No. 4 Dougherty Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Granada at No. 2 Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Berkeley at No. 3 Redwood
Division I girls
No. 8 Clayton Valley Charter at No. 1 Amador Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Dublin at No. 4 San Ramon Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 10 California at No. 2 Carondelet, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Berkeley at No. 2 Monte Vista, 5 p.m.
Division II boys
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 1 Newark Memorial 1, No. 9 Alameda 0
No. 5 Maria Carrillo 3, No. 4 Windsor 2
No. 2 Las Lomas 3, No. 10 Liberty 0
No. 3 Richmond 2, No. 11 Hayward 1
Division II girls
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 1 Casa Grande 3, No. 8 Acalanes 0
No. 4 Tamalpais 5, No. 12 Newark Memorial 1
No. 2 Las Lomas 3, No. 7 Bishop O’Dowd 2
No. 3 Branson 2, No. 11 Northgate 1
