FORTVILLE — In a game bound by yards and played over the course of an even-numbered minutes, Thursday night’s rivalry match between Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon came down to mere inches.
After a 1-1 tie following the first 40 minutes, the visiting Greenfield-Central Cougars tied the game once again 2-2 through 80 minutes before 14 more spun off the clock in overtime.
Once the game clock stopped, the final verdict came down to a penalty-kick shootout — not one round but two — as the Cougars bested the Marauders in sudden death 2-1 (6-5 overall through seven attempts).
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“It was absolutely so suspenseful, but our guys do so well under pressure. Calm, collected, it’s in our veins, really,” G-C senior Jacob Blevens said.
“We talked on the bench before we took the field. It was about focusing and taking everything else out of the equation. Just making sure you hit your shot. It’s what we talk about all the time at practice.”
Blevens drilled the eventual game-winning shot in sudden death PK during Greenfield-Central’s final attempt to put the Cougars up 2-1 in the second round.
Mt. Vernon’s final PK shot hit the crossbar, which led to Cougars’ goalkeeper Ben Polster being rushed by his teammates in the box.
“We just play so well together as a family with chemistry,” Blevens said. “The family is the team.
With the word “Family” on the back of their pullovers, the Cougars (2-5-1, 2-1 HHC) banded together to seal their Hoosier Heritage Conference win with their best scorer sidelined due to a leg injury suffered in the second half.
John Halvorsen left the game with 14:35 remaining in regulation. He tied the game twice for the Cougars.
Down 1-0 after a goal by Mt. Vernon’s Jaden Price in the 29th minute, Halvorsen fired a hook shot over Marauders’ goalkeeper Noah Whitehouse to deadlock the game before halftime.
Mt. Vernon pulled ahead 2-1 in the second half during the 43rd minute with a goal by Zach Johnson.
The Marauders (4-5, 3-2 HHC) had 12 shots and seven on goal compared to the Cougars’ 24 shots and 18 shots on goal.
Halvorsen capitalized on his direct kick attempt with 21:19 left in regulation following a questionable foul call in the box.
“It’s always a rough battle between the two of us, and it was a physical one,” Mt. Vernon head coach Matt Mayhew said. “There were a few calls that were questionable and could have went either way, but overall it was a well-played game by both teams.”
Halvorson drilled the left corner with his free shot to tie the game 2-2 before exiting six minutes later.
His teammates had his back.
“They needed this one. They have a lot of heart. We had a rough loss on Tuesday to Delta on senior night, so they really wanted this one pretty bad,” McConnell said. “It’s always a rivalry game between us. It’s always a hard-fought game, but this one for our boys tonight. They needed it. They knew they needed it. They wanted it, bad.”
Greenfield-Central lost to Delta 3-1, but they refused to let another HHC game slip away as the league’s defending champions.
The Cougars converted four of five PK shots in the first round before Bryce Kinnaman buried the first of the second round. Blevens applied the finishing touch.
“You hate to see it come down to penalty kicks like that, especially one where the young man hits the crossbar. You just hate that, but when neither team can ice it in regulation or overtime, it gets left to a game of inches,” McConnell said. “We were on the fortunate side of that draw tonight.”
