The top-ranked DeKalb Tigers had owned the rival Upperman Bees during the regular season, beating them 5-1 and 6-1 in regular season games last month. So, when it came to hosting the district championship last Thursday night, with a top seed in the regional playoffs on the line, conventional wisdom would have had the Tigers winning in a rout. This, becoming doubly true after it was announced, to the delight of the home crowd and the chagrin of the visitors, that the DeKalb Tigerettes had upset the Upperman Lady Bees that same evening to win the district title in Watertown. However, when it comes to rivalry games, you can throw records out the window.
With an atmosphere more akin to the gridiron under the Friday night lights than soccer on Thursday night, the clubs put on a high energy show, keeping the fans on their feet for most of the night as the teams traded attacks on the pitch.
Unlike the earlier meetings, the Tigers were unable to score the early goal as both teams sported aggressive defenses, keeping the lion’s share of the game played in the midfield, offering very few shots on goal.
The physical play left both teams knotted at 0-0 at the end of two 40-minute halves, a Cristobal Flores prayer from way out just nicking the crossbar near the end of regulation. Wesley Carpenter made 13 saves on goal to help keep the goose egg in regulation. The teams then went to two, 10-minute overtimes to no avail. Two five-minute overtimes also proved fruitless with Upperman losing a player to a red card with just 32 second left in the last overtime.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the teams went to penalty kicks with each club getting to send six players to kick from the penalty area. Tiger goalie Wesley Carpenter was able to make a save but his counterpart on the Bees squad made two saves, giving his team a 5-4 win in penalty kicks, propelling them to the district championship.
The loss meant the Tigers were to travel to Loudon Tuesday evening for the first round of the state playoffs in a region 3AA showdown instead of getting to host the opening round. The loss leaves them 13-2 for the season after completing a perfect 8-0 regular season district mark.
Several players were honored following the game including Cristobal Flores who was voted Most Valuable Player in the District 6AA. Jasper Kleparek was named District Rookie of the Year.
Named to the all-district team along with Flores and Kleparek were Cesar Coronilla, Pablo Juarez, Dylan Easterwood and Wesley Carpenter. Cited for their play in the district tournament were Luke Bryant and Daniel Munoz.