By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
The Albemarle boys soccer team got a tying goal from Jordan Parks and did just enough in a penalty shootout to outlast visiting Tuscarora 2-2 (5-4 PKs) in a thrilling contest in the 5A North Region quarterfinals Monday night.
The Patriots, who played a man down from the 26:41 mark of the first half on, trailed 2-1 with less than a minute to play when Marcel Berry took a pass from Parks, brought the ball down the middle and returned it to Parks on the right side. The sophomore promptly buried the equalizer to send the game into extra time.
“I saw Marcel in the center and the defenders were separated,” Parks said. “He played a perfect ball. I just had to tap it in.”
Twenty minutes of extra time were not enough to decide a winner, so the game progressed into a penalty shootout. Each team’s first three kickers buried their shots, with Garrett Lazorchak, Justin Carey and Edgar Resendiz scoring for the Huskies while Berry, Brendan Moyers and Zach Mayo converted for Albemarle.
Tuscarora blinked first when Spencer Hayes’ shot sailed over the net, giving the Patriots an opening. Kevin Salazar made his kick to give AHS a 4-3 lead, but Calvin Witteveen kept the pressure on by making Tuscarora’s last kick. That brought up none other than Parks, who calmly stroked the ball past Huskies keeper Mikey Skirkanich to give Albemarle the victory.
“The first four makes really helped me out,” Parks said. “I kind of got lucky. It just went behind [Skirkanich].”
Albemarle struck first barely 10 minutes into the game when Berry made a nifty move to beat an offside trap and took a feed from Parks. Berry streaked into the box and beat Skirkanich to put the Patriots up 1-0.
“Marcel was a handful for them all night,” AHS head coach Jeff Balnave said. “He really gave them problems.”
But the Huskies came charging back and almost immediately pushed into the Albemarle zone. After a scramble in front of the net which featured a couple of Tuscarora chances, Albemarle’s Briggs Moyers was shown a red card for a handball in the box, leaving the Patriots a man down for the rest of the game.
Resendiz stepped up for the Huskies and blasted the ensuing penalty kick past AHS goalie Matt Natale, leveling the score at one with 26:41 to go before halftime. The score remained the same at the break.
“To persevere with 10 men for over three-fourths of the game was just a heroic performance for our boys,” Balnave said. “I feel for Tuscarora — they’re a talented team, they’re well-coached, but we’re not going to apologize to anyone for getting this win.”
Tuscarora forged ahead with 30:53 remaining when Carey capitalized on a defensive lapse by the Albemarle defense, receiving a cross from the left side and beating Natale from 20 yards out for a 2-1 lead
The Patriots nearly tied it with 10 minutes left when Berry took a long pass and outran the Tuscarora defense, needing only to beat Skirkanich for the equalizer. But his shot skidded inches wide left of the net, keeping Albemarle a goal behind until Parks’ heroics.
Albemarle will meet Thomas Jefferson High School on Wednesday at home in the regional semifinals. The winner will advance to the state tournament.
