In a soccer season in which Chattanooga Christian's Will Patten has endured nearly as many injuries as he has scored goals, the Chargers senior forward knew he did not want the District 7-A/AA tournament final to go into overtime Thursday night at Signal Mountain.
With his team tied with the host Eagles at two junctures in the second half, Patten recaptured the momentum for the Chargers by converting two chances as he found the ball within the doorstep of the net.
Patten didn't miss scorching the twine either time, and fellow senior Porter Black provided the clincher in a wild sprint to the finish by the Chargers, who won 4-2.
Chattanooga Christian (11-4-1) will host the District 8-A/AA runner-up Tuesday in the Region 4 semifinals, while the Eagles (6-5-5) will visit the District 8 champion.
After outlasting Notre Dame in a match went to a penalty-kick shootout, the Chargers were determined to prevent any notions of overtime in this one.
"Coming off that Notre Dame game, I wanted to be done with overtime," Patten said. "It was a tight, back-and-forth game. I knew I had to step up."
For him stepping up meant putting aside injuries to his right leg this season that have included a high-ankle sprain and a PCL injury to his knee. But the senior found the strength and the speed to set up the game's first goal 9:30 into the first half with a deflection off the post that Black drove home.
Twelve minues after Brian Hodges blasted a loose ball into the Chargers' net from 30 yards away two minutes into the second half, Patten got in between the Eagles defenders and found a rebound chance that he converted from point-blank range.
The CCS lead -- bolstered by the defense of Phillip Sneller, John Love and freshman Austin Berry -- looked like it would hold up. But Eagles star forward Josh Patta, who had limited action due to a leg injury, tied the game at 2 with 13 minutes left.
Three minutes later, Patten created another opportunity inside the Eagles' penalty box.
"I got the ball, I saw the net and I wanted to get the goal," he said of what stood as the game winner. "All I kept thinking was there was no way we were going to go to overtime tonight. I didn't want to miss that shot."
Black took the remaining doubt out the contest with his second goal three minutes after Patten's final tally.
"We tried to turn Will loose tonight, and he responded," said CCS coach David Stanton. "He's had so many injuries, and he still does, but that's the Will we have seen take control of the game. It was great to see. I am very proud of all the guys. We ask them to give us high energy from the beginning of the game, and they did."
Signal Mountain coach Richard Northcutt noted that his team returned to the title match and earned a region berth after losing all but three starters.
"Our guys did well and we were certainly in it," Northcutt said. "Unfortunately, we lost a couple of our defenders and we are not five or six backs deep, but CCS has got a strong team with some good players. Now we'll go on the road and see what happens."
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com