CHESAPEAKE — Playoff soccer doesn’t get much more chaotic than this.
Wednesday night’s Class 5 Region A quarterfinal between No. 4 seed Great Bridge and No. 5 Princess Anne had everything you could ask for in a postseason clash: two overtimes, two Golden Goal periods, clutch goals from both teams, a flurry of momentum swings — and, finally, penalty kicks to settle the madness.
And after 100 breathless minutes,the Wildcats survived and advanced.
“Resilience was the word in the huddle,” Great Bridge coach Royden White said. “The way they battled back each time going down, we knew it was the story of the whole season.”
Great Bridge won in PKs after Princess Anne senior Michael “Quinn” Hendricks sent his shot over the crossbar and Alexander Escobar had his attempt blocked by Great Bridge goalkeeper Griffin Thomas, capping a wild 3-3 (4-3) match with a heart-pounding finish. The shootout win earned Great Bridge a trip to the region semifinals for a match at top-seeded Kellam at 6 p.m. Monday.
“I knew we were going to score,” Thomas said. “All I needed to do was just compose and save one. Just one. I asked the ref: ‘If I save this, it’s done, right?’ As soon as he nodded his head, I knew it was destined to happen.”
The two teams faced off in the regular season on April 3, tying 3-3. It was deja vu on Wednesday, because after two overtimes, the score was 3-3 again, but it was destined to have a winner this time around.
And it didn’t come without its share of drama. After trailing the entire game, Princess Anne grabbed its first lead of the night in the 82nd minute, when senior Maciej Majcherczyk — who had already tied the game once — buried a go-ahead goal in the first overtime.
But in the second OT, Great Bridge freshman Callen Bourgeois responded with poise. Surrounded by defenders, he briefly lost the ball, regained it after a deflection and ripped home his second goal of the night to tie it 3-3 and force Golden Goal periods.
“It was awesome,” Bourgeois said. “I’m just glad I got to do it in such a big moment, such a big game. I wanted to help out everyone, because I don’t want the seniors to stop playing. I just blacked out. I lost the ball, and I saw it and was like ‘I’m not losing that ball again.’ So I just threw up a prayer.”
It was even bigger than that for Bourgeois, who told his team that he had this performance for his father, who died on Memorial Day a few years ago.
Majcherczyk stunned the home crowd with his 75th-minute equalizer, sprinting up the right side and launching a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2 late in regulation.
The madness really began midway through the second half. In the 53rd minute, a misplay by Thomas on a long ball outside the box gave Josiah Roberts an uncontested goal to level the score at 1-1. But barely 60 seconds later, the Wildcats answered.
Great Bridge’s Cole Schuler won a header and flicked it into space, and River Hardrict chased it down and slipped a shot past Princess Anne keeper Raik Peter.
The Wildcats struck first in the 17th minute when Bourgeois weaved between defenders and slotted home his sixth goal of the season to put his team ahead 1-0.
Both sides entered the postseason with something to prove. Great Bridge had been riding a six-game unbeaten streak before a stumble in its regular-season finale. Princess Anne, once the last unbeaten team in the 757 at 6-0-3, had cooled off with a 3-2-2 finish. On Wednesday night, both teams delivered a postseason thriller to remember.
No. 4 Great Bridge now turns its attention to top-seeded Kellam, who shut out Kempsville 4-0 in its quarterfinal. Great Bridge also tied Kellam 1-1 in the season opener on March 20.
“They’re the clear No.1,” White said. “I think they’re the clear most talented overall team, but that doesn’t necessarily win the regional title. Hopefully, we have the better team, but it’ll be a battle. We know that.”
