The Thomson High School Soccer Dogs traveled to Washington County on March 13 to garner a 2-0 victory in a game that went into double overtime.
“Be ready for a physical match,” head coach Zack Tucker told his team before the game. “Be ready to go from the very first whistle.”
While Thomson appeared to dominate the first half of the game, neither team was able to generate any goals and the game stood scoreless at half time.
“We’ve got to use both sides of the field,” Tucker urged his team during the halftime break. “You’ll have an opportunity to put this game away if you play like you should. There’s no such thing as a 50-50 ball. You’ve got to look at every ball as our ball.”
The Dogs responded to their coaching and covered the field in the second half. But stubborn and effective goalkeeping by both sides prevented either team from scoring, and the game remained tied at zero at the end of regulation play.
“Their goalie really made some great plays,” Tucker said following the game. “He was catching everything we sent at him.”
Going into overtime, Tucker spurred his team to step up their play.
“Don’t let their desperation turn into a lucky goal,” he told his players. “And let’s put one into the net and go home.”
Defense continued to define the game, however, and a scoreless five minutes sent the game into its second overtime.
Little seemed changed in the second overtime, with both teams continuing to play aggressive offense and effective defense. Then, with 2:42 remaining, John Holloway took a corner kick from Ford Adams, connecting with a head shot to send the ball into the net for the first goal of the game.
“That was pretty,” Tucker said of Holloway’s goal after the game. “When Ford sent the corner kick in, I was thinking it was too long. But Holloway was there and made an absolutely beautiful header, hit the ground on it, and it went perfectly. It really was just absolutely beautiful.”
“Ford sent the ball in, and I saw it go over Marquis (Cook’s) head, and I thought, ‘that’s it,’ and I just went in and put my head on it and finished it,” Holloway said after the game. “It felt great, because we worked so hard the whole game and then you finally finish it off. Everything from practice just paid off.”
The Soccer Dogs weren’t content, however, to stand on a one-goal lead. Just eight seconds after Holloway’s goal, Marquis Cook took a cross from Will Land and knocked another goal into the net to give Thomson a 2-0 lead. WaCo was unable to respond with any goals in the final minutes and Thomson claimed a well-earned win.
