DALTON, Ga. — Dalton’s Joe Gonzalez delivered a powerful strike with less than 15 seconds left in regulation play during a GHSA Class AAAA semifinal Friday night at Harmon Field.
For a moment, it seemed the junior star would be celebrating both a hat trick and the Peach State soccer powerhouse earning a shot at yet another championship. The ball glanced off the Westminster keeper’s hands and over him, appearing for a split-second to cross the goal line.
However, the assistant referee did not signal a goal in what went on to become a crushing close to an excellent season for veteran head coach Matt Cheaves’ Catamounts, whose quest for the program’s eighth title will have to wait until next year.
The visitors from Atlanta fought back from an early 2-0 hole by scoring on a penalty kick in the 27th minute and tying in the 55th after a long throw-in bounced around in the box before getting punched in by the Wildcats (16-6), who are now one win from their second straight state title and the program’s 16th overall.
It remained 2-2 after 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, setting up a shootout, and Dalton fell 5-4 via penalty kicks as the sixth and final attempt by the Cats was saved by Westminster junior Anderson Lee. Both teams missed their fourth attempt.