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True Heartbreaker: Bulldogs season ends with 2-2 tie |
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Wednesday, March 10 2010 |
By Rusty Berry
Sports Editor
About nine o’clock Tuesday evening at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, there was quite a contract among the people with the home team Canyon Eagles fans celebrating their boys soccer team’s first trip to the playoffs in almost ten years, while players and fans of the Borger Bulldogs were left leaving the stadium with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Borger Bulldog sophomore George Sifuentes #6 prepares to send the ball up the field during the first half of play with Canyon. Sifuentes scored Borger’s second goal of the game.
With the Bulldogs up 2-1, the playoff fate of both teams came down to a penalty kick in the 80th minute with Borger being called for a handball.
Eagles senior Wayne Munger sealed the fate of both teams as he put the ball past Borger goalkeeper Alberto Rangel to tie the game up 2-2, which would end up being the final score that would clinch the fourth playoff spot for Canyon in District 5-4A while the Bulldogs season comes to an end.
The Eagles started the game going on the attack on the offensive end, however it would be Borger senior Aaron Baker that would put the first goal on the scoreboard by taking a pass from Adrian Chavez and streaking down the field to put the ball in the corner of the net to make it a 1-0 game in the 10th minute.
Credit needs to be given to the Bulldog defenders and Rangel in the first half, as the group did a good job of keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard with several great saves and head up plays.
The start of the second half made it seem as if the Bulldogs were destined for the playoffs when George Sifuentes put Borger up 2-0 by putting the ball in the net at the 54th minute mark.
However Canyon continued to fight until they were finally able to get the ball past Rangel in the 65th minute mark on a goal by Ben Hassell making it a 2-1 game.
The final ten minutes of the game went back and forth with Borger doing a decent job keeping the Eagles out of scoring position while the Eagles continued to try to find a way to put the ball in the net to force a tie.
With about two minutes left on the clock Canyon appeared to get the break they needed by getting off a couple of good shots near the goal, but once again the Bulldogs responded by being able to protect the net until the deadly whistle blew for the handball that set up the Eagles for the penalty kick.
Despite the game ending in a tie, the Eagles were able to clinch the playoff spot over the Bulldogs due to the point earning format in District 5-4A where a win equals one point while a tie equals a half point.
With last night’s game being the regular season finale for both teams, the tie allowed Canyon to finish district play with 3.5 points while Borger ended the season a half point back with 3.
Wether or not the handball call can be considered the right call, there is no question that having the win taken in the final minute of play ripped the hearts of every Bulldog player that was on the field on Tuesday evening.
The Bulldogs end the 2010 season with a 6-10-2 overall record.
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Last Updated ( Friday, March 12 2010 )
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