Broncbuster men knock off 4th-seeded Barton on penalty kicks
Great Bend, KS-Garden City's magical run through the Region VI tournament continued on Sunday.
After two scoreless overtime periods, Maury Avalos nailed the game winner on a penalty kick as the 8th-seeded Broncbusters stunned No. 4 Barton County 6-5 in a shootout in the second round of the conference tournament.
With the victory, Garden City advanced to the Plains District Championships on Friday in Oklahoma.
"I'm so proud of these guys," Head Coach Charles Long said. "What a great match."
The Broncbusters also made history. It was the first win ever for the men's team over Barton County.
"We made history as a program," Long said. "It's an unbelievable feeling.
But for most of the match, it was Barton County (13-3) that was the agressor.
The Cougars had two chances to take the lead before the half, but both of Mario Ramirez's shots were stonewalled by Garden City goalie John Avalos.
In the second half, Garden City had four near misses, including three straight corner kicks that produced no goals.
"It was the same as the other day; we had chances to finish in regulation and didn't," Long said.
In the first overtime, Barton County's Lucas Alves manuevered into the box and found Koa Endo. But Endo's header was too tall, and the Broncbusters escaped disaster.
"We caught a few breaks in this one," Long said.
A scoreless second extra session set the stage for a dramatic finish.
Five rounds of penalty kicks produced a deadlock, that was until the sixth, when (John) Avalos sent back Vinicius Monteiro's shot.
Moments later, (Maury) avalos slipped one passed Cogars' keeper Bruce Turner, punching Garden City's ticket to the Sooner state.
Garden City out shot Barton County 17-16 but had only two shots combined in the two overtimes. Avalos recorded seven saves.