SOUTH CHINA — Consecutive overtime victories this week have the Gardiner boys soccer team primed for a postseason push.
“These are the kind of games you want to be in,” Tigers coach Nick Wallace said following Friday’s 2-1 extra-time win over Erskine. “I love the fact that we’ve faced adversity, shown resiliency and fought back. It’s a good sign.”
Junior striker Kian Alves had both goals for Gardiner (10-2-1), which trailed by a goal to nil at halftime for the second time in three days. Alves winner developed out of a broken play in the 86th minute, when he popped onto the ball inside the 18-yard box and punched it past charging Erskine keeper Caleb Gay. The ball trickled slowly over the line for the golden goal.
Gardiner needed the extra session to dispose of Morse by an identical 2-1 score on Wednesday.
“I knew there were no teammates to my left or right, and I was the only one down there,” said Alves, who now has 19 goals this season. “I decided to take it. I could have done a little better on the finish — but if it goes in, it goes in.”
Alves opened his account for the afternoon similarly in the 52nd minute to draw the sides even at 1-1.
Alexx Roy’s corner kick created havoc in the box. The initial header toward goal was deflected on a couple of occasions, catching Gay (seven saves) off-guard and leaving just enough space for Alves to get a boot on from only a couple yards out of goal.
“When he’s in the right frame of mind, he’s one of the best strikers I’ve ever had,” Wallace said. “He’s been a great goal scorer for us.”
“That one stings,” said Erskine coach Carrie Larrabee, whose side dropped to 8-5-0 with its third straight loss. “It’s a thing where it’s one guy dribbling through five guys and nobody’s stepping up. With the amount of seniors we have on the field, we expect them to step up and stop that. … I think we’re better than that, and it just takes one mistake.”
The Eagles drew into the game first in the 24th minute, capping a furious pace from both squads at the start. A long throw-in from the right wing came into the hands of Gardiner keeper Connor Fairservice (five saves), but heavy contact in front of the goal wedged the ball out of Fairservice’s hands and into the Tiger net for an own goal and a 1-0 Erskine lead.
Erskine kept driving forward into dangerous areas for most of the final 15 minutes of the opening period but couldn’t produce any insurance.
The Tigers, however, came out of the break having shook off the stunner of the early concession. They pounded seven shot attempts in Gay’s direction, held the Eagles without a shot on target over the final 46 minutes and produced several near-misses.
The best Gardiner chance to end the contest during regulation time came off the head of Chase Kanaris, who barely nodded his wide open 71st minute header over the crossbar.
By the time the extra session began, Gardiner had the proceedings well in hand. Alves made sure to see the Tigers through to their eighth win in their last nine outings.
Erskine and Gardiner opened the day sitting sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Class B North Heal point standings. By the afternoon’s end, they had flip-flopped those positions.
“We might start out slow, but we’ll battle to the end and make up for it,” Alves said. “It really comes down to who’s going get those No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, who is going to host their playoff games and who is going to travel.”
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