AUBURN HILLS — Had it ended another way for Oakland Christian, Blake Martin might not look back quite as fondly on district final season.
After all, the Lancers senior broke his leg at the same stage last year when his team defeated Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 2-0.
Martin’s final go-around went much better, as he scored the winner in Oakland Christian’s 12-round penalty shootout over the Crusaders Wednesday afternoon, making them back-to-back D4 district champs.
After Crusaders goalkeeper Payton Lewis and Oakland Christian’s Brandon Pipp each scored in the 11th round of penalties to make it 5-5, Lutheran Northwest’s final try went right of the target, which allowed Martin — who also stepped up and converted in Round 3 — to bury his penalty, end the shootout and cue the celebration.
“On the first one, I have my same penalty routine where I look like I’m gonna use my left foot and I shift over,” Martin said. “I looked hard left-bottom corner so I could trick the keeper into thinking I was gonna go the other side, made it very obvious that I was looking bottom corner, and still went there trying to play mind games with him.
“The next one, I know I picked a side in the moment, but I don’t even remember I went to (laughs).”
Martin suffered a broken femur on a collision following a shot attempt and had to leave last year’s 2-0 triumph against the Crusaders in an ambulance, forcing him to be sidelined for six months.
This time, he leaves a hero.
“Really, what a moment,” Martin said. “The boys, they kept us in it and let me get that final shot in.”
On Martin, Lancers head coach Patrick Reyes added, “I think about it and I get choked up about it, because it’s an amazing thing for him to take the final kick for us to win it. It’s fantastic.”
Lutheran Northwest sophomore Quinn Meyer (17) celebrates a game-tying goal in the second half of the Crusaders’ district title loss to Oakland Christian on Wednesday in Auburn Hills. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)
The other big hero? That’s Lancers senior goalkeeper Carson Goetz, who tied the shootout 4-4 when he made his spot kick in the fifth round, and also finished with four saves in the session, including a diving stop to deny a well-executed attempt by Lutheran Northwest’s Beckett Troska in Round 10.
“Like I told the guys, Carson, for me, I’d put him up in a shootout against anyone in the state,” Reyes said. “He has demonstrated how hard he’s willing to work, and he lives for moments like this, so it’s perfect for him.”
Goetz talked about his mindset of swapping roles from being between the sticks to hammering in his own penalty.
“(I’m thinking) don’t miss,” Goetz said. “It would have ended the game, and I want to go to regionals. I want this bad. So I just thought ‘don’t miss’ and buried it. I’m not a field player, so it’s very much (a feeling of) relief and move on.”
In terms of his strategy of stopping shots, he added, “Most of them wanted to go the right, so I was looking at their feet, their eyes, and I could tell where most of them went. I was surprised a lot more went center than usual, because most times they’ll bury it either top corner or bottom corner.”
Luke Reyes, Martin, Elias Cengeri, Goetz and Brandon Pipp were the successful penalty takers for Oakland Christian. Quinn Meyer, Preston Varnauskas, Oliver Poyhonen, Cole Shearer and Lewis had the made PKs for the Crusaders.
It was a fairly non-descript first half of regulation between two teams familiar with each other. The Lancers were looking for their first win over Lutheran Northwest (8-8-4) since last fall after a 3-1 loss in Rochester Hills on Sept. 9 and a scoreless home draw 16 days following that. Despite playing more on the counter before halftime, Oakland Christian began carving out more chances and finally got on the board with 11:47 left in regulation when Cengeri got on the end of a through ball and picked out the corner opposite of Lewis.
Lutheran Northwest would not go quietly. Evan Orlandi’s shot from around the edge of the box forced Goetz into action, but it produced a rebound opportunity that Meyer cashed in on and evened the contest 1-1 with 8:20 on the clock.
“Crashing the net is something we talk about all the time because soccer’s a wild sport and you never know where the ball might end up,” Crusaders head coach Kahner James said. “I was happy with that, and that’s just this group and their tenacity and drive. It doesn’t matter what the score is, there’s no such thing as ‘quit’ or slowing down. We just continue to go.”
While the first overtime session didn’t feature as much action, each side had a moment or two in the second 10-minute period, but the defenses held up before penalties would decide the outcome.
While Reyes said this is the longest session of penalties he’s endured as a coach, James and Northwest, last district champs in 2022, were defeated in a 14-round shootout by Bishop Foley in district finals two seasons ago.
“Both teams battled like crazy, and you can’t ask for much better if you’re a neutral party,” James said. “We’re a young team with a few seniors, and they all stepped up huge. I can’t emphasize that enough. What a game. Soccer is wonderful when you win and sucks when you lose, especially with shootouts (laughs).”
Compared to last year when they were 13-7-2 and reached the regional finals, the Lancers (now 7-13-1) began this year’s playoff run with just four wins. Coach Reyes will be able to use that as motivation for future groups. “(It means) don’t give up,” he said. “Once you get into playoff season, everything is erased, it’s a brand new season and anything can happen.
“(Before the shootout) I just told them to enjoy it. These are stressful moments, yes, but they’re fun, and obviously you can see these guys are enjoying it,” Reyes added just before being doused with a Gatorade cooler full of water.
Oakland Christian will play either Bad Axe or Clarkston Everest Collegiate in regionals on Oct. 21 at Royal Oak Shrine.