Late antics send Rams and Panthers to overtime

 

By Casey Callanan

Endings don’t get any more frantic than what was on display Thursday night at Glenbard North.

The home Panthers defeated Glenbard East 2-1 in overtime after finding a way to tie the game with 17 seconds left in regulation.

The pandemonium was at a high because the Rams scored just thirty seconds before the Panther’s equalizer. Glenbard East’s goal came off the foot of junior Ian Leifheit.

With a 1-0 lead and less than a minute to play it looked as though Glenbard East would have its first Dupage Valley Conference win of the season. But, with 17 seconds on the clock a yellow card was issued to the Rams and a free kick was awarded to North.

Every North player, including goalie Eric Tenut, positioned themselves in front of the goal in a last ditch effort to extend the game into overtime.

Senior Danny Campagna’s serve landed in the heart of a group of Panther attackers and sophomore Ryan Scott willed in the immaculate game-tying goal. The Glenbard East sideline was left stunned.

“We got the late goal we wanted. We just gave up a bad foul,” said Glenbard East head coach Josh Adler. “Bad things happen when there’s a cluster of player in the box. It’s unfortunate; we have to be more organized.”

In overtime the action teetered back and forth like it had in the previous 80 minutes.

With less than two minutes to play in overtime Jon Colucci caught the Glenbard East goalie out of position as he unsuccessfully dove at the ball. Colucci’s shot on goal was deflected away on a desperation header by Glenbard East defender Jose Hernandez.

The rebound led directly to the foot of Campagna. Campagna buried the shot on the open net for a 2-1 game winner.

“Danny kept running to the ball and finished the play,” said North junior Ryan Anderson. “He never gave up. Getting the win is a big thing for us.”

Incredibly, both teams went the first 79 minutes of regulation without scoring before both offenses caught fire.

“We were working hard the whole game and it was just a matter of time,” Campagna said. “We were doing everything right, but we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.”

Campagna said every player on the team had the same thought before Scott’s improbable game tying goal.

“We were all thinking we have to get this in or the game’s over,” Campagna said.

Neither offense attacked the net with a sense of urgency in the first forty minutes. The possession battle went back in forth with neither team asserting itself superior.  

The action picked up right away in the second half after Glenbard East’s Sam Dennis broke away from the Panther defense and blasted a hard shot on goal. 

Dennis’ shot set the tone for the rest of the game as the crowd grew louder and louder until the final goal in overtime.

“We hope to carry this momentum with us,” said Glenbard North coach Greg Chrisman. “We’re going for our fourth conference win and getting it will be a great goal for us.”

The Panthers will face Naperville Central at home next Tuesday in their regular season finale.

According to Chrisman, the Panthers have been making improbable comebacks since day one of the season. 

“We came back against Streamwood in out first game of the year when we were down 2-0 and got three goals back,” Chrisman said. “That same effort’s been there all season.”

The Rams will have a chance to gain a conference win with meetings against Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North next week.

“We’re battling a lot,” Adler said. “This is our second conference game this week that went into overtime.”