Boys soccer: Elyria Catholic keeps fighting but falls to West Branch on penalty kicks

BELOIT — Elyria Catholic survived a two-goal first-half deficit, injuries and illness only to eventually have penalty kicks prove to be their Achilles' heel. The No. 17 seed Panthers traveled to No. 14 West Branch on Saturday for a Division IV Northeast District 2 sectional final that will go down as one of the more exciting and entertaining to be played anywhere in the state this postseason. Unfortunately for Elyria Catholic, it was also its final game of the season after falling 5-4 to the Warriors. The game was decided when West Branch made its first four penalty kicks and the Panthers had a pair of misses. "This was probably one of the more unusual games I think I've seen in my career," Elyria Catholic coach Tony Csizar said. "I'm at a loss for words to be honest with you. It's not the way I anticipated this game playing out." West Branch (11-3-3) scored in the third minute when senior forward Xander Culbertson corralled a loose ball in the box and sent it to the back of the net for the first goal of the game. Culbertson scored again in the 20th minute off of a perfectly placed corner kick from Reed Martucci to make the score 2-0. Playing shorthanded on an unfamiliar grass surface nearly two hours from home, Elyria Catholic (10-7-2) could have chosen that moment to fold but instead the Panthers picked up the intensity. Senior Hezekiah Garcia scored twice in the final seven minutes of the half to send the teams into halftime tied at 2. When the second half started the scoring continued at a furious pace. Junior midfielder Noah Deah scored off another Martucci corner kick in the 44th minute to put the Warriors back in front 3-2. Four minutes later, Elyria Catholic sophomore Brayden Van Dyke chipped in a shot from 30 yards out just under the crossbar and over the outstretched arms of West Branch goalkeeper Devon West to tie the game again. "We did a great job of pushing through adversity today and I give our team a lot of credit," Csiszar said. "I am so proud of this team for what they did all season." The game remained tied for all of 13 seconds before Gavin Clemens scored a goal for West Branch to put it back on top 4-3. The Panthers, who came in having gone 3-1-1 in their last five games, got a goal from Elijah Mvere in the 56th minute to make it 4-4, the third time Elyria Catholic tied the match in a span of 16 minutes. After lighting up the scoreboard for eight goals in the first 56 minutes, defense and goalkeeping ruled the second half of the match as West and Elyria Catholic goalkeeper Carson Bandagski kept the opposition scoreless for the final 24 minutes of regulation and through 30 minutes of penalties, setting the stage for penalty kicks to decide who would advance to play Andrews Osborne in the district semifinals. Elyria Catholic quickly found itself trailing in penalties when Garcia stepped up to take the first kick and smacked the ball off the crossbar. Senior Sean O'Donnell and freshmen D.J. Russo and Hakeen Garcia all had successful kicks for the Panthers but West Branch made its first four kicks to hold a 4-3 lead as Elyria Catholic's fifth kicker, junior Nelson Perez, stepped to the penalty spot. His kick sailed high over the goal into the Mahoning Valley night, taking the Panthers' hopes of surviving to play another day with it. "We did our best to choose the players we felt were capable under the pressure of penalty kicks," Csiszar said. "It's not such a fun way to lose a game but when you get in these games someone has to lose." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. West Branch 5, EC 4 GOALS: (EC) Hezekiah Garcia (33rd minute, 40th minute), Brayden Van Dyke (48th minute), Elijah Mvere (56th minute); (WB) Xander Culberson (3rd minute, 20th minute), Noah Dean (44th minute), Gavin Clemens (48th minute)ASSISTS: (EC) Garcia; (WB) Reed Martucci 2, Trey ThomasSAVES: (EC) Carson Bandagski 17; (WB) Devon West 15SHOTS ON GOAL: EC 19, West Branch 24FOULS: EC 6, West Branch 9CORNER KICKS: EC 5, West Branch 10OFFSIDES: EC 1, West Branch 6 YELLOW CARDS: (EC) Mvere (68th minute), Sean O'Donnell (108th minute), Garcia (110th minute); (WB) Martucci (105th minute)HALFTIME: Tied at 2 PENALTY KICKS: (EC) Made — O'Donnell, D.J. Russo, Hakeen Garcia; Missed — Hezekiah Garcia, Nelson Perez. (WB) Made — Thomas, Clemens, Culberson, Martucci