LISBON — Jonah Sautter prepared for this moment, envisioned each shot.
The Lisbon junior goaltender didn’t come out and say his team’s game plan was to go to penalty kicks against a talented Waynflete squad in Saturday’s Class C South semifinal clash. But, he was definitely prepared for the moment.
Sautter made four saves on nine Flyer shooters during two rounds of penalty kicks, and his teammates made his efforts pay off, outscoring Waynflete 3-1 in round two for a stunning win.
The victory sends Lisbon (10-3-3) to its first regional final, where the Greyhounds, seeded third, will face top-seeded Monmouth on Wednesday. The Mustangs downed North Yarmouth Academy, 2-1, on Saturday.
After both teams scored three times in the first round of PKs, Sautter stopped Askar Hussein and Thorne Kieffer. Goals by Lisbon’s Josh Huston, Chris Normand and Dylan George clinched it for the Greyhounds, setting off a wild celebration, with Lisbon players piling on Sautter on the muddy field.
“We have worked on PKs all season, and we tell Jonah to pick his side and go for it,” Lisbon coach Dan Sylvester said. “Hats off to Jonah. He played a fantastic game and just showed the kind of goalie that he is. I am so proud of him.”
For Sautter, it was about making a decision and sticking with it.
“I knew which way I was going before each shot,” he said. “I told myself during the regular season that if penalty kicks happen, I would go this way, then that way. I stuck with that and it worked out.”
Sautter made 10 saves through 80 minutes of regulation and another four in the two 15-minute overtime sessions, including a point-blank stop of Waynflete’s Diraige Dahia. Sautter found himself down on the play, but managed to get to his knees before putting himself between Dahia and the goal to keep the game scoreless.
“My heart dropped when I went to the ground, but somehow I got there,” said Sautter of the save.
Talented Waynflete
“We had to limit 7 (Ilyas Abdi) and 16 (Hussein), their best threats,” Sylvester said. “Josh Huston played a phenomenal game, and our defense did what it needed to do, knowing that we had to weather the storm.”
“We tried to lock down the defense and played this game with a new game plan,” Huston said. “We knew that we didn’t have as much skill as them. But what we have is something we are proud of. We don’t quit.”
Waynflete (8-6-2) owned the opening half, outshooting Lisbon, 9-2. The Greyhounds seemed to find their footing in the second half, pushing forward more. Flyers goaltender Luca Antolini made five of his seven saves in the overtime periods.
As the game went to penalty kicks, Sautter had a look of confidence.
“We didn’t say it, but we had this result in the back of our heads, especially heading into the second overtime,” said Sautter. “We just needed to lock down. We knew that they had more skill than us, but that didn’t mean much in penalty kicks.”
“We haven’t been in situations like this,” said Sylvester.
Lisbon grabbed the edge in the first round of PKs, as Nick Lerette and Bryant Hall scored for a 2-1 lead. But, Waynflete pushed back, getting a goal each from Max Winson and Mykel Henry for a 3-2 lead after Lisbon missed the cage on back-to-back shots.
Lisbon senior captain Ryley Austin calmly scored into the right corner to send the game to a second set of PKs.
Huston scored for the Greyhounds, and Waynflete’s Ian McClure-Chute tied it after Antolini made a save on Lisbon’s second chance.
Normand scored to put the Greyhounds ahead to stay, as Waynflete’s Burr Rhoades sent his attempt high. George slipped his shot off the fingertips of Antolini to end it.
“This is the direction that we have been heading in,” said Sylvester. “We have been in the semis three times since I have been coaching, and this is just a big tip of the cap to the work that these guys have put in. Lisbon is a football school, but we are now also a soccer school. This puts us on the map.”
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