MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Boyd-Buchanan goalie Jake Lockert admitted some ignorance about the rules of penalty kick situations, but he did know one thing.
To win, the keeper has to keep the ball out of the net.
Lockert had two big saves, and the Bucs advanced to the Class A/AA state final with a shootout victory over Christ Presbyterian Academy at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex. The match lasted four and a half hours after an hour and a half-long rain delay, then 30 extra minutes of play in overtime.
Boyd (19-2-2) will play on Friday in the A/AA championship at 5:30 p.m. EDT against the winner of Chattanooga Christian and Memphis Kingsbury, who played later Wednesday.
“I just tried to read their shots,” Lockert said. “I knew we had at least three or four that would finish their shots, so I just believed I could stop them.”
Lockert, in only his third season of playing soccer, had never been in penalty kicks before.
“I thought there were five people shooting,” he said with a laugh.
CPA (19-6-1), down 3-2 going into their last shot, put up their keeper to attempt the final shot, but Luke Roman’s shot went high and wide.
“Nobody likes a shootout,” Boyd coach Dustin Walker said, “but Jake’s a big guy, and I felt confident with him in goal.”
CPA had controlled larger portions of the game, until lightning, followed by a thunderstorm halter the action. After the stoppage, Boyd started to control possession and Taylor Shull had multiple opportunities on goal.
The Bucs made a few changes during the break. Joey Glisson moved to more of a center midfielder position, while Chase Reed moved outside.
“CPA was bringing numbers on their attack,” Walker said. “We made an adjustment during the break and the guys responded — I think we needed that time tot talk about things.
“We came out like a different team — we did a great job after the break.”
Shull, Mason Wortman and Drew Zumbrun scored during penalty kicks for Boyd-Buchanan. David Taaffe scored on his shot, but Lockert saved shot attempts by Max Curtis and Luke Dyson. Roman then saved shot attempts by Glisson and Ian Pilgrim, but after a goal by CPA’s Taylor McCarthy, Roman’s miss sent the Bucs fan base onto the field to celebrate.
“This team believes in each other,” Lockert said. “We’ve overcome so much this year and have a great team.
Added Walker: “It’s just an amazing feeling to be here with these guys. We’re like a family, and I couldn’t be happier for them to be in the state finals.”