The DeKalb County Tigers Soccer team opened play in the district semi-finals on Tuesday, May 7, against Friendship Christian.  The two teams had tied during the regular season so the Tigers knew this was a win-or-go home situation. 
Both teams brought their "A" game, but the Tigers seemed to have more possessions of the ball in the first half.  Despite efforts by players on both sides of the field, neither team was able to score in the first half. 
After a motivating halftime speech by Coach Kleparek, the Tigers came out of the huddle ready to dominate.  The Tigers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on visiting Friendship Christian with goals scored by Ronnie and Brandon Leiser. 
As any good team does, Friendship did not back down.  Friendship put two goals in soon after, tying the score 2-2.  Needless to say, intensity was at an all-time high in this elimination game.  Both teams had scoring chances but it was the young Micah Merriman of the Tigers to finish a rebound shot to push DeKalb to 3-2 win. 
Although a great victory for the club, the Tigers still looked for a three-peat as district champions in the district championship game to be held the following Friday against top seed Central Magnet.  
The championship game had been scheduled to be played at Central Magnet High School in Murfreesboro, but was moved to Seigel Complex at the last minute.  There, the Tigers played the Tigers for the district title. 
During the game, possession of the ball was dominated by the Tigers of Central Magnet with the ball staying on DeKalb’s side of the field for most of the time. 
Even though Central Magnet scored three on DeKalb, the defense played great, canceling out many of their opponent’s scoring chances.  Central Magnet's defense limited DeKalb’s scoring chances and made the offense almost nonexistent at times.  It was too much for DeKalb and Central claimed the victory 3-0. 
The DeKalb County Tigers did finish second place in the district, however, giving them a spot in the regional postseason.  Out of the 32 teams left, DeKalb is one of them.  DeKalb travels to Chattanooga to face Notre Dame in the first round of the win-or-go home regional tournament.