John Stroud/Post Independent
It took until a few minutes into the second extra period in Carbondale Wednesday afternoon, but Denver Christian finally got the better of a short-handed Colorado Rocky Mountain School soccer team.
The CRMS boys, holding the No. 1 seed in the 2A playoffs and hosting the school’s first postseason game in recent memory, were down four players on the day.
But the dozen Oysters who were rotating on and off the field found a way to hold a 1-0 lead until late in regulation before the No. 9 DC Thunder came roaring back.
“Unfortunately, when you go into overtime, you’re asking them to do almost the impossible,” CRMS coach Dan Pittz said after the 2-1 loss. “But they should be proud of what they accomplished this year.”
Down to their third-string goalie, junior Charlie Cope filled the role commendably, keeping the ball out of the Oysters’ net until the 72nd minute of play when DC’s Bill Tran slipped one in to tie it 1-1 and send the game into extra time.
CRMS had scored the game’s first goal six minutes before the end of the first half of play. Junior Bodi Dallas had a direct penalty kick, which careened off DC keeper Max Atwood. Dallas followed his shot and took advantage of the downed goalie to knock home the point.
After the Thunder’s goal and through almost 20 minutes of overtime play, it was Denver Christian senior Josh Schernitzauer who lasered a free kick from outside the 18 line past Cope for the golden goal and the win.
“We were playing a little bit light today, but nothing taken away from these guys,” Pittz said. “We’ve been trying all season to keep it fun, and our boys play best when it’s kind of light …
“Maybe it got to us a little bit … but playing under that pressure comes with experience, which Denver Christian has. They’re used to being here.”
Once into overtime, “when you don’t have that depth, it’s hard to keep up the intensity,” Pittz said.
CRMS closes out the season with a record of 7-4-1 overall, while DC moves to 10-6-1 and advances to the 2A semifinals against Dawson School.
