Bradwell Institute was looking to earn Region 3-AAAAA wins on the soccer field Tuesday. But the South Effingham High School Mustangs had other plans, as they swept the Tiger teams on Olvey Field.
The Lady Tigers lost 1-0. The Tiger boys suffered a 3-2 loss in double overtime.
In the girls’ game, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead, which they held for the remainder of the game. The Lady Tigers started to sense the urgency and began their attack with two minutes left in regulation.
The crowd roared as the Lady Tigers charged toward the Mustangs’ goalkeeper, who was in the midst of catching a kicked ball. It appeared the goalie had dropped the ball, and the Lady Tigers managed to hit it to the back of the net to tie the game. But the officials waived off the goal, citing that the keeper had maintained possession.
That deflated the Tiger girls a bit, but they continued to fight until the final buzzer.
The Lady Tigers are 3-5 overall and 0-4 in region play.
The boys took the field in an emotional game, especially for one of their players. Justus Hofmann had just lost his mother, Anttonia Marie Hofmann, to cancer Monday.
Yet the young man played on. It was befitting that it would be Justus Hofmann knocking in the first goal of the game, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. After scoring, Hofmann raised his hands in the air, making a gesture to the skies on behalf of his mom.
“Justus had a phenomenal game,” Tiger coach Tom Oglesby said, adding that Hofmann later got an assist on a goal scored by Tyler Dixon after beating several players on the dribble. “Last night was the first time in several games where we played as one team for each other. I just hate that we didn’t get the win.”
The Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick with 20 minutes left and trailed 2-1. A few minutes later, Tiger goalkeeper Sean de la Torre was injured and had to leave the game. The Mustangs attacked and tied the game 2-2 with two minutes left in regulation.
“During overtime, we had several chances to score but couldn’t find the back of the net,” Oglesby said, adding that the Mustangs eventually scored on a header for the 3-2 win.
It was the second double-overtime loss for the Tiger boys this season.
The boys are 2-5-2 overall and 0-5 in the region.