Green Hope slips by Millbrook in overtime in 4A boys soccer playoffs

The scouting report that Millbrook boys soccer coach Matt Edwards got on Green Hope was simple but foreboding: “They don’t make mistakes.” For 80 minutes, neither did Millbrook.

But the host Falcons pulled away with three overtime goals to advance in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A boys soccer playoffs to win 3-0 Thursday night.

Connor Munz scored first, in the 87th minute. He took a careful touch and got his left foot around to knock in a short-distance goal after a failed goal kick landed at his feet.

Millbrook had to press forward, and Anthony Boswell was the beneficiary, scoring twice in the game’s last six minutes including one on an assist from Munz.

“Our motto is basically ‘We are 11 but we play as one,’ I think that speaks well about our teamwork very well,” Boswell said. “We all play together, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we just come together and beat other teams.”

The two teams entered the night as the top remaining teams in the N&O rankings (Green Hope first, Millbrook fifth) and seeded first and fourth respectively.

Up next for Green Hope (25-1) is Wilmington powerhouse New Hanover on Saturday. The Wildcats ended Cary’s Cinderella run 1-0.

Millbrook will say goodbye to a group of seniors who turned around the program. After missing the playoffs in back-to-back years, the Wildcats were one of the best teams in the Triangle this year, finishing second in the Cap-8 Conference.

“It’s amazing. One of the things that I said to them at the end of the game is how grateful I am for the comittment they’ve had. They’ve taken some lumps over the years but they’ve grown so much as young men and as players, to trust us as a staff as much as they have and be that committed to whatever it took to win games and get back inot the playoffs, it’s a humbling thing as a head coach,”

He continued: “They’ve been the heart and the backbone of this team. .... They’re not a team that I’m going to forget about ever. They’re such an awesome piece of this Millbrook soccer history that I’ve gotten to be part of.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Green Hope slips by Millbrook in overtime in 4A boys soccer playoffs."