It was a bittersweet end to a great season for the boys’ varsity soccer team.  The Panthers were away playing Clarkston in the Sweet 16 of the state AAAAA playoffs, and the game was intense because the winning team would advance to the Elite Eight and the losing team would end its season.

Both teams had even possession of the ball and chances to capitalize but were not able to. At the end of regulation, the teams were tied 0-0 and went into two rounds of overtime and penalty kicks.

“Going into it I was pretty confident,” senior goalkeeper Mitch Pattison said. “We had been there before and had always come out on top. I trusted all the guys.”

Panther keeper/forward Brandon Oot stopped a shot that would have resulted in a save  for the Panthers, but a referee called the PK back for a mistake on the kicker. The final sudden death penalty score was 6-5, and the Panthers ended their season in the Elite Eight round with a 1-0 loss.

“The call rewarded the offending player and punished the offended team,” head coach Mike Hanie said. “We would have won the shootout because all five of our kickers made it, but instead we had to go to sudden death. It was devastating for our team to go out this way as 15 players were seniors,” Hanie said. “The only motivation I see in it for our players is to win in normal time and not go to penalties.”