The Switzerland County Pacer boys varsity soccer team pulled out a nail-biting victory on Tuesday night in a triple shootout over the South Ripley Raiders.
The Raiders scored early in the first and second half making the score 2-0. The Pacers continued to put pressure on the Raiders defense but couldn’t find the back of the net until there was less than 10 minutes left in the game.
Junior Tim Steinbis got the Pacers on the scoreboard when he found a loose ball and sank it into the open goal.
The reenergized Pacers continued to press the action with Tim Steinbis crashing the net again to score the game tying goal with only minutes left in the game.
With the score tied 2-2, the game was to be decided by a shootout. Three players from each team score their penalty kick in the first shootout. Dylan Griffith, Jesse Bailey, and Tim McAlister scored for the Pacers. With the game still tied at the end of the first shootout, five more players were picked from each team to shoot, with Anthony Dasis scoring in the second shootout to keep the Pacers alive.
The Raiders were unable to capitalize on the advantage sending the game into the third shootout.
This time the shootout was sudden death with each team sending one player at a time. First up was Anthony Dasis, who again scored. After that, Switzerland County keeper Garrett Schulz came up with a huge block giving the Pacers the opportunity they needed to win the game.
Junior Josh Yeary then scored his penalty shot, giving the Pacers the game winning goal.
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The soccer team was also in action last Thursday night against Rising Sun, losing by a final score of 2-0.
The Shiners started the scoring early in the first half, beating the defense on a throw-in. The Pacers picked up the action after that, but head coach Brian Grigsby said that the squad was unable to finish a ball and record a goal.
The second half was identical to the first, with the Shiners scoring within the first 10 minutes of the half and the Pacers failing to capitalize on offensive opportunities.