Southeast shocks Northwest with late overtime goals to grab boys region crown; Lady Bruin defense holds off Southeast for Region 7-4A title

Published 11:00 pm Friday, April 1, 2022

TUNNEL HILL — Goals were hard to come by in regulation time of the regular season finale — and de-facto Region 7-4A championship game — between Southeast Whitfield High School and Northwest Whitfield in Tunnel Hill Friday night.

The first half finished without a score, and the teams were knotted with one goal apiece at the end of regulation.

In the extra frames, fireworks flew, momentum swung and Southeast came away with the Region 7-4A title after two dramatic goals late in the second overtime period for a 3-2 win.

When the game went to overtime, Northwest (11-4-1) struck with about five minutes left in the first frame and held on for a 2-1 advantage over Southeast (14-2-3) entering the second 10-minute period.

The Bruins retained the lead until Southeast’s Angel Garcia was able to equalize the score with about four minutes left.

With just under a minute to go, Leo Barajas booted in the game-winner, lifting Southeast to the region championship.

Both teams entered the game undefeated in region play, so Friday’s winner would grab the region championship. Southeast, the defending Class 4A state champion, enter the state playoffs as the region’s top seed, while Northwest settles for the second spot and a home playoff game in the first round.

Southeast hosts Hampton on April 15, while Northwest plays Fayette County the same day.

After a hotly-contested but scoreless first half on Friday, Northwest struck first with under a minute gone in the second half when Hayden Adams leapt into the air during a scramble and managed to redirect the ball into the net with his head.

With 27 minutes in regulation, Southeast’s Nathan Villanueva fired a shot that ricocheted off the hands of Bruin goalkeeper Jose Mendiola and into the net.

A few near misses from Southeast later, the game clock expired and overtime was required.

The girls game also was set to decide the region winner.

Northwest didn’t necessarily need the win to secure their second straight Region 7-4A crown, but the Lady Bruins grabbed a victory just for good measure.

Northwest coaxed in a late first-half goal and played its signature lockdown defense to down Southeast 1-0 and secure the region crown.

The win sends Northwest through region play unscathed as the undefeated champion. A loss would have plunged the first place spot into a three-way tiebreaker that likely would have still resulted in Northwest retaining the championship, but the Lady Bruins erased any doubt with a victory.

“The goal was to come in here and win,” Northwest head coach Amanda Moore said. “There’s so many scenarios that could have played out.”

With 5:55 to play in the first half, Northwest’s Lexi Lyon was able to gather the ball in the scramble following a cornerkick and send it into the right corner of the net.

“I was so excited,” Lyon said. “I knew once we scored we were going to win.”

“Once you hit that goal, we kind of had a little breathing room,” Moore said.

From there, Northwest’s stalwart defense took over, led by captain Leticia Coronel.

The Northwest defense hadn’t allowed a goal in region play all season, and the Lady Bruins were able to keep Southeast off the board, despite a few scares.

Keeper Nicole Thurman swiped away a laser of a long-range shot from Southeast’s Lesley Alanis in the second half, and Coronel booted another that could have made its way in for the tying goal.

“We have played together for a while,” Coronel said. “We have a lot of chemistry back there, and we’re able to trust each other. I know that we are all very excited to go back-to-back.”

The Lady Bruins head into the playoffs as back-to-back region champs, while Southeast slips to the third seed in the region with the loss.

Northwest hosts Hampton in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs on April 14, while the Lady Raiders travel to play Fayette County.