Pioneer boys edge Wood in OT

May 11, 2011

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- The Millbrook boys' soccer team finally got a reward for all the overtime it's been putting in.

Playing their fifth straight overtime game, Stuart Hupp's penalty kick goal in the third minute of overtime lifted the Pioneers to a 2-1 Northwestern District victory against James Wood Tuesday night at Kelican Stadium.

In a reversal of their first matchup - in which James Wood won 4-3 after holding off a Millbrook rally on April 14 - it was the Pioneers (7-5-2, 3-2-2) who emerged victorious after fending off a spirited second-half push from James Wood (6-5-1, 4-2).

"I tell you what - my hair's turning pretty gray, and I'm losing it pretty quick this year," Millbrook coach Keith Kilmer said with a laugh.

Though the Pioneers did win once in their previous four overtime games, that came against non-district foe Broadway. What Millbrook really needed was a win against a top district foe by any means necessary.

"We've definitely got a bunch of momentum going into the district tournament," Hupp said. "[We might] be playing these guys again, so beating them now is good. We can definitely do it." It took a judgement call by the referee to create the opportunity for the win. But the circumstances surrounding that opportunity show just how much the Pioneers are growing, and just how much they believe in each other.

Two minutes into overtime, contact from a James Wood player in the box resulted in Chris Barrette falling to the ground after his left leg went out from under him. It seemed only natural that Barrette - who normally takes the penalty kicks - would then be the one to finish the job.

But as the players came together, Barrette was struck by his fellow captain Hupp's demeanor.

"I could feel his energy," Barrette said. "He wanted it badly."

Afterward, Hupp described the emotions of playing five straight overtimes as "stressful," but he didn't feel the gravity of the moment when he spoke up.

"I've been wanting to take one all year," said Hupp, Millbrook's senior sweeper. "I was pretty pumped. I just knew I had to put in the corner and bury it."

Despite being fully aware of the cheers, the horns, and the feet stomping on the bleachers, Hupp did just that in grounding the ball into the right corner.

Hupp didn't have to do it against James Wood's starting goalkeeper - with 25 minutes left in regulation, Elliot Shiben re-injured the right shoulder he hurt in practice before the first Millbrook game - but given the two incredible saves backup Joe Kysela made in regulation, the PK was hardly automatic.

Kilmer said he usually decides who takes the penalty kicks, but he saw the same thing from the sideline that Barrette saw on the field.

"Some of the guys turned to me and said, 'Coach, what about Chris?' I said, 'It's your season. It's your team.' They made the decision. I picked them as captains early on, and I went with their decision.

"They make lots of decisions without me. It's funny. I'll be thinking it, and then they'll be saying it."

The Pioneers - who led 1-0 at halftime on a Santiago Sanchez goal off a Tyler Anderson assist - are just glad they can say they got a win.

Kilmer acknowledged that James Wood was the better team in the second half.

With a 13-6 shot advantage in the second half, the Colonels were relentless. James Wood's effort was finally rewarded when sweeper Josh Marts - who moved up to forward with 13 minutes left - dove in to finish a rebound of a Matt Henriques shot in the 79th minute.

It was a goal that had the Colonels pumped and had James Wood coach Chris Hild thinking bigger things were in store.

"I give it to my players at the end of the game," Hild said. "By playing hard all 80 minutes, it shows a lot of heart to come back and score the goal to put in overtime. They gave themselves the opportunity to win.

"We definitely had the momentum. Then, man, ... a call like that in overtime, you just hate to see. You don't like to use the referees as an excuse, but just I felt like we had some opportunities to get penalty kicks as well. It's just unfortunate."

While Millbrook came out Tuesday feeling confident it can win the district tournament, Hild said the Colonels remain strong in their belief they can win the regular season title despite losing their second straight district game.

A James Wood win against Skyline on Thursday would set up a first-place showdown with Handley (4-1-1 in the district) on Monday.

"Right now, the guys are down, and that's how I want them to be. They need to be disappointed, because it's a team they should have beat - same with Sherando," Hild said. "Now we have a lot of motivation. We're going to be rolling will all guns come Skyline and Handley."

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