Give the Patrick Henry boys soccer team credit for fortitude.
Playing through 80 minutes of regulation and four five-minute overtime sessions, the Patriots came up just short when visiting Forest Park of Manassas found the twine on each of five penalty kicks to capture the AAA Northwest Region tournament semifinal Wednesday evening on the PH artificial turf.
Forest Park had gotten the opening it needed in the PK session when Bruin keeper C.J. Chambers stopped the first PH penalty kick in the round of five. Although Patrick Henry connected on its next three attempts, Forest Park had found the net on all of its first four shots. When Bruin Brandon Clegg’s shot to the left corner scored on Forest Park’s fifth shot, the score was 5-3 and any final PH attempt became irrelevant.
Patrick Henry had been the aggressor in the game’s opening minutes, continually applying pressure and getting good looks at the Forest Park goal. With just over 13 minutes gone, PH attacked following a corner kick, and when the ball escaped Chambers, three Patriots were left unattended in front of the Bruin goal where senior midfielder Emmanuel Scere easily buried the score.
Midway through the first half, Forest Park picked up its offensive attack and had several good chances, none better than with five minutes left when a point-blank opportunity sailed wide of the PH goal.
Forest Park evened things up in the 60th minute when Clegg scored on an unassisted breakaway and bullet to the left side of the Patriot goal. The teams battled on even terms the rest of the way, setting the stage for the dramatic PK showdown.
Patrick Henry, with only four seniors on its roster, finished the season with an impressive 14-5-3 record.
by Bill Turner