Warhorses save season with late-game heroics
Owen advances to fourth round with dramatic victory over Patton
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 7, 2023
Following 110 minutes of playoff soccer, Nov. 6, Owen senior Elijah Caro approached the ball with his team tied, 3-3, in a penalty kick shootout with the season hanging in the balance.
“I just went up there, went through my routine, kept calm, picked a side and hoped it went in,” Caro said, after scoring the game-winning goal against Patton. “It was such a rush of emotion I can’t even explain it.”
The kick brought a dramatic conclusion to a tightly contested match, as the No. 1 seed Warhorses advanced to the fourth round of the NCHSAA 2A State Soccer Playoffs with a 1-1 (4-3) victory over the visiting Panthers.
Owen hosted No. 8 Patton in a rematch of the 2022 third round match between the programs. Caro staked his team to an early 1-0 lead in the 21st minute with his 21st goal of the season, which he launched from around 40 yards out.
“I got the ball on the throw-in, looked up and I was going to try to cross it to someone in the box,” he said. “They kind of backed off of me, so I just went for it. It was the craziest goal I’ve ever scored.”
Throughout most of the night, the Warhorses were locked in an intense defensive struggle against the Panthers, who tied the match, 1-1, in the 61st minute. Neither team established an advantage in regulation, forcing the first of two overtime periods.
The tie held through 30 minutes of extra time.
“We just didn’t have the mentality tonight,” Owen head coach Trei Morrison said. “The players who usually step up and do big things just weren’t there tonight. We’ll have to do a little bit of soul searching after this one, and then come together and figure it out as a family.”
While the Warhorses were unable to regain the lead against the hard-charging Patton defense, Morrison was confident in his players as they returned to the field for a decisive penalty kick shootout.
“I told them, straight up, James (Centers) is going to make two saves, we’re going to score five and be done with this,” he said. “Now, we didn’t quite get the five, but James made his two saves.”
The junior goalkeeper recorded 6 saves in regulation and overtime before calmly stepping into the net for the shootout.
“I was relaxed, and I knew that no matter what happened, you leave it on the field and move on,” Centers said of his mindset heading into the tie-breaker. “I just had to go out there and do the best I could.”
A quick dive to his left on the Panthers first shot deflected the ball out of the goal.
“I couldn’t even believe that happened,” he said. “I felt that ball hit my hand, got up and let out a big smile.”
Owen senior Daniel Garcia put his team ahead with the first attempt in the shootout, which was immediately followed by a Patton goal. Abraham McTeague-Pospishil added another before the Panthers tied it, 2-2, on their subsequent attempt.
The teams were locked in a 3-3 tie when Centers made his most important save of the night, corralling the ball as it hurtled toward the bottom right corner of the goal. He considered the advice of his injured teammate, Davis Kendall, before the shot attempt.
“He told me I should try to fake one way and then play the ball the opposite way,” Centers said. “I decided to do it, and the player looked nervous before he took his shot. So, I think that advice really worked out in that situation.”
The home crowd erupted as Caro blasted the deciding shot into the back of the net.
Following the win, Morrison told his team to remain steadfast in their pursuit of a state championship.
“This is so much fun, right? So, why stop now?” he said. "In all of my years of coaching, club, college, professional, this is quite possibly the best team I’ve ever coached. You guys are that good, you just have to believe.”
The Warhorses will face their next postseason test at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9, when they host No. 13 Lincoln Charter in a rematch of last year’s West Regional championship.
“We just need to keep in mind that the work we’ve put in is what it takes to do what we need to do,” Morrison said. “Maybe we needed this challenge tonight, just to show we could gut it out. Now, we can get back to playing beautiful soccer again and go get it done.”
Photos of Owen’s third round playoff victory over Patton can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.