The North Adams Green Devils finished as Division V district runner-up after a heartbreaking overtime loss to Minford in t he district championship game. (Photo by Tim Daulton)
Minford wins in OT, penalty kicks
There’s not much chance for advancement for North Adams’ Jayden Reckers as he is wrapped up, literally, by a Minford defender. (Photo by Tim Daulton)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
After opening the postseason with district tournament victories over Chesapeake and Ironton St. Joseph, the North Adams Green Devils set their sights on a Division V district championship when they hit the turf at Zane Trace High School on the evening of October 26. Standing in the path of the #5 seeded Devils was the #1 seeded Minford Falcons and before a nice crowd, the two teams turned in an instant classic.
A gritty, tough, all-out performance by both teams couldn’t be contained in the regulation 80 minutes, nor in two 15-minute overtime periods. With both defenses and goalkeepers, North Adams’ Jayce Rothwell (18 saves)and Minford’s Kade Glockner, at the top of their games, the contest was tied after the two extra periods, meaning the berth in the district title game would be decided by the thrill of the penalty kicks. Unfortunately, those penalty kicks did not go well for the Green Devils.
The tone of the game was set in the first half when the two teams played scoreless soccer for nearly 26 minutes. The ice was broken by the Falcons, who got the first goal of the game at the 14:23 mark off the foot of Myles Montgomery. When the halftime break rolled around, Minford still held that slim one-goal advantage.
With Rothwell making save after acrobatic save, the Green Devils fought back in the second half, evening the score with 33:55 to play when a crossing pass from Collin Tolle found the foot of Tristan Young, who beat Glockner for the goal that tied the game at one apiece. That set up a tense rest of regulation, with no one scoring, sending the game to the first overtime period. With fans from both teams on the edge of their seats or on their feet, neither side could score in the first overtime or the second, leaving the contest to be decided by penalty kicks.
Bad luck hit the Devils during the PK stage, as the Falcons were able to pound three into the net while North Adams could manage only one, that coming from Tolle on the first attempt. Glockner was able to make some incredible saves on the rest of the North Adams kicks and the Falcons punched two more past Rothwell, giving them the victory and the berth in the district championship game.
Even with the heartbreaking defeat, it was an outstanding season for Coach Kirk Bunn and his Green Devils as they finished at 15-3-2. North Adams was led in scoring by double digit goal totals from juniors Preston Call and Beau Hesler, while Rothwell produced 14 shutouts in goal, tops in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.
The loss to Minford was also the final high school soccer game for a talented group of seniors, including Rothwell, Ryan Reed, Alan Wilson and Cameron McCann.
