Tree of Life keeper Adam Pugsley (1) goes up for a save Wednesday evening. Fairbanks’ Cade Ziegler (2) and Cade Feller (background) crash toward the goal. The Panthers beat TOL, 3-2, in sudden victory overtime. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
It was like an old Johnny Carson gag from the Tonight Show years ago … it was so crowded around the net.
How crowded was it?
It was so crowded Fairbanks High School boys soccer coach Matt Humphrey couldn’t really tell at first who scored the winning goal during Wednesday’s Division III district semifinal match.
The answer was Josh Underhill.
The Panther senior got his head on the ball after a corner kick with 1:16 left in sudden victory overtime.
He directed the sphere into the net as the fifth-seeded Panthers (14-5-1) edged No. 4 Tree of Life Christian, 3-2.
The contest was played at Columbus Wellington High School.
The outcome marked the second consecutive day a Panther soccer team had won a district semifinal match in sudden victory OT.
The Fairbanks girls did the same, 1-0, over the Columbus School for Girls on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s outcome also marks the first time both Panther teams have advanced to district championship matches in the same year.
The No. 2-seeded Lady Panthers will face No. 1 Grandview on Saturday, 4 p.m., at Westerville North High School.
The FHS boys will contend for a district crown against No. 3 Worthington Christian.
That match will be played at Dublin Jerome on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Tree of Life tallied the first score of Wednesday’s battle with a long shot that sailed over the head of Panther keeper Eli Thrush.
That attempt nestled in the net within the first 90 seconds of the contest.
The Panthers, however, didn’t take long to respond.
Joey Ziegler booted a free kick.
Cade Ziegler finished the play with the goal that knotted the match at 1-1.
That score came at the 35:13 mark of the first half.
The teams traded possessions, but TOL was able to take advantage of several out-of-bounds calls on Fairbanks.
The Trojans took a 2-1 margin after a corner kick with 17:59 remaining until halftime.
Thrush later turned back several other TOL threats.
As a result, the Trojans held their one-goal lead at the intermission.
Tree of Life maintained control of a majority of the second half.
The Trojans were able to get to 50/50 balls, swiped the sphere from Panther dribblers and held possession after out-of-bounds plays.
Something happened, though, within the last few minutes of regulation.
“We had allowed Tree of Life to move the ball better,” said Humphrey. “We made a little bit of a tactical change by putting Dylan (Tobe) and Eli (Feller) up at the top.
“Dylan got around defenders and set up scoring opportunities for us and Eli maintained his composure.”
TOL keeper Adam Pugsley had come up with several saves throughout the game.
He couldn’t, however, prevent Cade Ziegler from tying the game with 5:16 remaining in regulation.
Pugsley went to one side of the net to prevent a shot.
His back was to the side when Ziegler took another attempt that tied the game at 2-2.
Eli Feller was credited with the assist.
FHS had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but a shot with 1:10 to play went wide of the mark.
The stalemate led to a 15-minute sudden victory session.
Both keepers turned back attempts on the net as the clock continued to wind down.
The outcome came down to Feller’s well-placed corner kick.
Bodies crashed toward the net as the ball went off his foot.
Underhill got his head on the ball and directed it in for the winning goal.
The senior’s only thought as the ball went in the net was “we’re moving on.”