GISSV Wins MS Boys Soccer Championship

By Coach Michael Rolufs

In an edge-of-your-seats, nail-biter of a Championship game on Tuesday, the GISSV MS Boys Soccer Team defeated Gideon Hausner School after 70 minutes of regulation and overtime play and a penalty kick shootout. The final score was 5-4.

Hausner, the 2016 and 2017 Champions, had defeated GISSV in the playoffs in the past two years and also in this year's regular season (2-1). It has been a rivalry in which Hausner has too often come out ahead, but Tuesday's game changed that.

From the start, it was clear that the game would be characterized by physical, fast-paced soccer with great passing combinations and plenty of close shots on goal. GISSV took the lead toward the end of the 1st half when Kai P. received an outside pass from Manuel G. and played it off to Dimi K., whose shot was too much for the Hausner goalie to manage.

In the 2nd half, Hausner equalized on a penalty kick after a GISSV defensive foul in the penalty area. Goalie Kai F., with the quick reflexes and good instincts that he's shown for the past two seasons, made a spectacular dive to punch the ball away, but it took an unlucky bounce off the post and rolled over the goal line. Both teams continued to slog it out for the remaining 15 minutes of regulation time without landing the ball in the net. After 10 minutes of overtime, the score remained 1-1, so the teams selected 11 players for penalty kicks.

Both teams opted for their bigger players in goal for the shootout and GISSV shot first. GISSV's first three shooters (Dimi K., Kai P., Javier L.) made their shots, as did Hausner's first two players, but Lucian K. stopped Hausner's 3rd shot to make the score 4-3. Bennet L. made the 4th kick for GISSV and Hausner did as well, making it a 5-4 game with one kicker left from each team. Lucian K. came out of the goal to take the 5th shot for GISSV, but it veered high - making his next play in goal all the more important. The Hausner player set up for his shot, Lucian stood in goal again. The crowd held its breath. The Hausner player kicked the ball and Lucian got in front of it to make the save of a lifetime!

With this exciting 5-4 win, the GISSV MS Boys Soccer Team won its 2nd Championship.

A huge congratulations to the GISSV MS Boys Soccer Team on their victory and a special thanks to the 8th graders who will now graduate to High School: Lucian K., Bennet L., Mathieu Sch., Anson B., Dimi K. and Justin E.!

Photo Credit: Kaoru Koda