In the end, it came down to penalty kicks between the Boerne High and Liberty Hill boys soccer teams Thursday in the first round of the 5A-DII playoffs.
After 100 minutes of play in regulation and overtime at Shelton Stadium in Buda, it was tied 2-2 and went to a shootout where the Panthers were perfect on their penalty kicks to defeat the Greyhounds.
Liberty Hill went 5-for-5 on PKs during the shootout that didn’t start until 11 p.m., while Boerne missed its first kick but made its next three and was trailing 4-3 through four kicks.
The Panthers made their fifth straight penalty kick and took a 5-3 advantage, and the celebration began. With only one kick left and trailing by two goals, Boerne didn’t take its fifth shot since there was no way they could catch the Panthers.
Boerne ends its season at 14-5-1 overall.
The Greyhounds tallied the only goal of the first half on Thursday and went up 1-0 after they converted a corner kick.
It stayed at 1-0 until halftime and once in the second half, Liberty Hill was awarded a penalty kick and made it to tie it at 1-1 in the 26th minute of the half.
Boerne pulled ahead 2-1 after they scored another goal on a set piece, this time on a throw-in they headed in with just three minutes left.
The 2-1 Greyhound lead held until the Panthers were awarded a penalty kick for a foul in the box with 41 seconds left in regulation.
Liberty Hill made the kick and knotted it up at 2-2 and it went to overtime from there. Neither team scored in the two 10-minute halves of OT to send it to a shootout.
It appeared the Panthers were playing for a shootout during overtime and weren’t being aggressive or pushing the ball and instead played more of a defensive game by keeping their players back.
The strategy worked and once it went to PKs, the Panthers went 5 for 5. Counting the two penalty kicks they made in regulation; they were 7 for 7 on PKs during the match.
For more, see the Wednesday online edition of the Boerne Star.
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