The final whistle meant a collective sigh of relief for East Ridge’s soccer team, which secured its place in the District 6-A/AA final with a tense 2-1 win over Howard Tuesday night.
It was a familiar scene at Camp Jordan, as both teams also met in last year’s district semifinal, but this year the top-seeded Pioneers were able to avoid the upset and got their turn to celebrate.
“It feels amazing,” said East Ridge senior Dee Schobert. “All the work and all the goals from the beginning of the season paid off. Last year we beat them in the regular season, and they came back and beat us in the tournament. We didn’t want to repeat that.”
Schobert, fresh off of his signing to play at Tennessee Wesleyan, was responsible for both of his teams’ goals. The second was a late penalty kick that ultimately decided the game.
“After last year, I think everyone’s hearts were pumping a little bit,” Pioneers coach Jeremy McIntyre said. “It’s not easy to take that pressure-filled penalty kick. He stepped up and kept his cool.”