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Copley senior Tanner Manfull scored in the penalty kick round to propel the Indians over Medina to win the district championship.
For the first time in his high school soccer career, Tanner Manfull was nervous.
The Copley senior co-captain had never taken a penalty kick in four years. With the Brunswick Division I District final on the line, Manfull needed to convert from the penalty spot to allow the Indians to advance past Medina and into the regionals.
The teams had played 80 minutes of regulation and another 30 minutes of overtime. The result was a 3-3 tie, forcing the match to be decided by penalty kicks.
In the penalty kick round, Copley was ahead 3-2 with Manfull next to kick.
“I was really nervous, but it was exciting,” said Manfull. Did he have a plan to get the ball past Medina goalkeeper Zach Haynes? “It just came off my foot and it went in.”
In actuality, Manfull’s shot went into the right side of the goal while Haynes dove left. The goal set off a wild celebration in both the stands at Copley Stadium and on the field.
For Copley, the victory extended its unbeaten streak to 14 (12-0-2) and put the Indians into the regional round for the first time since 1994. It was the first time Copley had played in a district final since 2006.
“The win is a continuation of a goal that players and I have,” Copley coach Dave Antal said.
The match was a back-and-forth affair throughout regulation and overtime.
Medina jumped on the scoreboard first 13 minutes into the match as Nate Libertowski scored on a pass from Brandon Hough to give the Bees a 1-0 lead.
Copley was able to take control of the match in the final five minutes of the first half. The effort paid off in the final minute with Riley Grant scoring off a Brad Ruhaak free kick. Colin Burton also had an assist on the play. The match was tied at one at half.
Copley kept the pressure up and took a 2-1 lead on a goal by junior Ryan Mattei off a crossing pass from junior Brandon Cathagan.
Medina wasn’t going to go away that easily. Gareth Evison scored on a penalty kick in the 69th minute, and Aaron Liezert converted off a corner kick with less than six minutes to go to give Medina a 3-2 lead.
Copley pushed the attack for the rest of the match. The Indians were awarded a free kick with 50 seconds remaining. Riley Grant ran in front of the ball to open an alley for Senior Taylor Graf, who buried the shot in the upper right corner to tie it at 3.
“We’ve been working on that free kick with Taylor for four years. I told the kids after regulation that shot went in for a reason,” Antal said.
Copley got a break in the penalty kick round when Evison, Medina’s first kicker, sent the ball through the football uprights. Copley’s first three kickers, Ruhaak, Graf and Grant scored. Medina’s Jake Geiger and Nick Everetts scored following Evison’s miss. The Indians got a huge break when Kirby Rice stopped Michael Clendenin’s penalty shot to set up Manfull’s heroics.
Copley will play Avon on Tuesday night at Bay Village High School in the Division I Regionals.
ON THE SCOREBOARD:
Medina (11-2-6) 1 - 2 -- 3
Copley (13-2-4) 1 - 2 -- 3
(Copley wins on penalty kicks 4-2)
FIRST HALF:
M – Libertowski (Hough) 13:34
C- Grant (Burton, Ruhaak) 39:06
SECOND HALF:
C – Ryan Mattei (Gathagan) 53:14
M –Evison (Penalty Kick) 69:30
M- Liezert (Evison) 74:21
C – Taylor Graf (Free Kick) 79:10