Enloe, Heritage play to a wild 5-5 tie in boys soccer
The Heritage Huskies scored an important Cap-8 Conference result by rallying with two goals in the final six minutes of the second overtime to tie Enloe 5-5 in a wild boys soccer match on Wednesday night at Len Bauer Memorial Stadium.
The Huskies (8-6-2, 5-4-1) had lost two games in a row and were in danger of falling out of the conference race. Heritage snared a 3-1 lead with two goals in as many minutes early in the second half, but then saw the game go into overtime on two Eagle goals.
Enloe (8-5-1, 3-5-1) then seemingly took control with goals by Yago Santos and Harry Cooper in the first 10-minute overtime.
But senior Logan Shytle made it 5-4 with a 20-yard strike in the 95th minute, and freshman Dylan Berk tied with less than two minutes remaining.
“That’s high school sports,” Heritage coach Scott Sloan said. “Sometimes, the inconsistency, the unpredictability is what makes it all so awesome. It’s a 3-1 game, it’s a 5-3 game, it’s a 5-5 game. I’ll be honest with you, that’s probably the right result.
“For us, that’s a good road (result). Winning at home, and then coming here and drawing, we get the tiebreaker (against Enloe), so that was a big tie for us.”
Enloe coach Drew Womble said “no comment” when a reporter approached him after the game.
Turning point
Shytle, a 30-goal scorer this season, had been bottled up most of the game before rifling a shot past Enloe keeper Ryan Barber for his 31st goal of the season. Shytle then had three quick shots on goal, getting one saved and one blocked before going wide of the net. A minute later, Shytle’s free kick ricocheted to Berk, who deposited it in the net for the tie.
They said it
“This is great mentally for us, to be down by two, 10 minutes left in the game, to fight back, to claw back and get those two goals,” Sloan said. “That’s a draw, but it feels like a victory tonight, so we’ll take it.”
Three who mattered
Logan Shytle, Heritage: The Heritage striker has had a season for the ages, but he was frustrated by Enloe’s defense. Still, he fought through with an offensive spurt in the second OT to help the Huskies get the tie.
“I start two freshmen, two sophomores, so we have a real young team after the last three years,” Sloan said. “This was supposed to be our rebuilding year. Logan refuses to let it be a rebuilding year; he’s had a great year.”
Yago Santos, Enloe: The senior defender helped keep Shytle in check for 94 minutes and scored a go-ahead goal in the first overtime.
Moe Diabi, Heritage: The senior made it 2-1 in the second half with a sliding goal from an impossible angle.
By the numbers
5: Yellow cards issued in a chippy game, including four in the overtime periods.
5: Players who scored for Heritage. In addition to Shytle, Berk and Diabi, Caleb Brateger and James Simpson got goals.
What worked
Heritage somehow regained its composure after giving up four consecutive goals following a 3-1 lead. Down 5-3 with 10 minutes remaining, Sloan challenged his team.
“Choice words,” Sloan said. “The message is simple: There’s no room for quitters.”
The Huskies didn’t, putting plenty of pressure on the Eagles, especially in the final five minutes.
“It was very discouraging, especially because we were winning 3-1,” Shytle said. “We’re not the best team, but we fight for everything, we fight for everything. We don’t give up.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Enloe, Heritage play to a wild 5-5 tie in boys soccer."