Boys battle to 2-2 draw in Crosstown Showdown
At its dizzying finish, the boys soccer match between A&M Consolidated and Bryan felt like a ride at the carnival that was set up about halfway between the two schools Friday night.
Sky-high one minute.
Bottom drops out the next.
The Tigers and Vikings achieved a sort of equilibrium, playing to a 2-2 draw as the first round of the Crosstown Showdown went into overtime at Tigerland Stadium.
Give Consol the better half of the tie. The teams began the night tied with Belton for the District 12-5A lead and the Tigers seemed to be headed for a sure loss before senior Kolby Graff scored the equalizer with 11 seconds left in the second overtime.
"It feels more like a win," Graff said. "It's exciting being down 2-1 and scoring that last-minute goal. A tie is way better than a loss."
Both teams earned one point in the district standings. Bryan (9-3-2, 2-0-1) was on the verge of grabbing three points with a victory after Rene Juarez scored midway through the second overtime.
"I thought we were going to win then," Juarez said. "It's a frustrating tie, but we're happy because we're starting this year good."
Consol (5-4-3, 2-0-1) opened the season with two down-to-the-wire victories, scoring the winning goals with under 2 minutes remaining. Against Bryan, the Tigers had one chance left with less than 30 seconds left when freshman Daniel Zivney hurried to launch a throw-in from more than 30 yards out.
Zivney's rockets had given Consol several scoring chances that were thwarted by Bryan goal keeper Abel Gutierrez. This time the goalie lunged to attempt a save in a crowd and saw the ball come loose, with Graff there to hammer the tying shot from point-blank range.
"Daniel can chunk that thing," Consol coach Chris Kovacs said. "Any time we get a ball in that region it's almost like another corner kick. It's a great weapon to have."
Juarez's go-ahead goal in the second overtime was nearly as stunning as Graff's. The Viking junior did a nice job of settling a high-bouncing ball, then spun to drill a shot into the upper corner of the net.
"I don't know how I got that shot off," Juarez said. "I just turned and took a shot and it went in."
Juarez had a chance to end the match late in regulation, but fired high. He went down with cramps in the closing minute and needed assistance before limping off.
"We can't complain about the tie," Bryan coach Tommie Allmon said. "We had our opportunities. It would have been harder to swallow if it was a 2-1 loss."
Bryan scored the opening goal less than 10 minutes into the match. Juarez won a 50-50 ball just across midfield and sent a long lead pass to Arnoldo Garcia, who won a race to the ball and slid a shot past keeper Kyle Duncan into the far corner of the net.
The Tigers pulled even 7 minutes later. Zivney made a sliding kick at close range to convert at the end of a pretty cross by Yanni Georghiades, who was sent in with a nifty lead pass from Camilo Clavijo.