BOYS SOCCER: Myftari’s game-winner with 6 seconds left gives Athens 11th regional title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
TROY — Talk about waiting for the last minute.
Andri Myftari had a shot at redemption Thursday night and the Troy Athens senior made the most if it.
In a storied program’s 39-season history, scored one of the biggest goals in Athens lore in the process.
After missing a penalty kick with 7:56 to go in the first half and misfiring on the ensuing rebound shot seconds later with his team clinging to a 1-0 advantage, Myftari more than made up for it and scored the game-winning goal with six seconds left in the second overtime session in leading Athens to a thrilling, 3-2, victory over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley in the Division 1 regionals finals at Troy High School.
Troy Athens celebrated its 11th regional title Thursday night with a thrilling, 3-2, victory over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. Courtesy Photo / Troy Athens Soccer
Myftari’s 35-yard laser sailed through traffic, deflected off the hands of Chippewa Valley senior goalkeeper Imari Ramos, clinked off the left goal post and into the net at the 99:54 mark — or with six seconds left before a shootout.
“My main objective was to get it on target,” smiled Myftari of his 11 goal of the season. “It was a perfect moment. With me missing a penalty (kick) in the beginning of the game, I felt I had to get some sort of redemption and that was the best opportunity to do so. It just went in.
“This was the goal all season to get to the (regionals) and try to win. Last year we fell short,” continued Myftari. “We expected to be here this season.”
It marks Athens’ second regional crown in four years and 11th overall for a program that first launched boys soccer back in 1981. Athens will face the winner of the Plymouth Salem/Ann Arbor Pioneer regional final next Wednesday at Troy High in the state semifinals.
The second-ranked Red Hawks are 7-3 all-time in Final Four contests and will be going for their eighth state finals appearance.
The Final Four run wasn’t without some drama in the recent past and Thursday’s storied victory. Athens took an unbeaten record into the district finals in both 2013 and 2018 only to become upset victims. The Red Hawks has overcome that past adversity and the turbulence of the state tournament.
The Red Hawks also hit the crossbar and missed a point-blank range shot inside the final five minutes of overtime before Myftari’s heroic effort.
“This was a classic high school soccer game,” said Athens coach Todd Heugh, who now has a 153-29-18 record over nine seasons with the Red Hawks. “What a way to win with only a few seconds left.
“I thought our kids responded well when they tied the game at 2-2 instead of folding and sniffing a little bit of adversity. They were sniffing victory,” added Heugh. “We have learned so much over the years about the highs and the lows of a single elimination tournament. This group of seniors just won their 42nd soccer game in two years. Twenty-one wins last year, 21 wins this year. Winning is not a surprise for them, but losing early (1-0 in the district finals to Utica Ford) last year was a bummer.”
Athens controlled play for long stretches of the match, holding a commanding 24-11 shots edge and 14-7 with shots on frame. The Red Hawks were also dangerous with an 8-1 cornerkicks advantage.
Playing in the regional finals for the 13th time in school history, Athens — which is an impressive 21-2-1 this season and 42-3-1 over two seasons — took a 2-1 lead in the first overtime when junior TJ Renaud’s cross into the box was redirected home by senior Davis DiGiovanni with 9:44 to go in the overtime period. The Red Hawks oust Chippewa Valley 4-2 over 20 minutes of overtime play but could not put the Big Reds away until the waning seconds.
Chippewa Valley loomed around and tied the game at 1-1 in the 61st minute and again at 2-2 in the 94th minute.
Junior Luis Ribao knotted the game at 2-2 when he was left alone on the attack and uncorked a 35-yard shot that bent into the upper 90 by the left post with 6:44 to play in the second overtime.
Chippewa Valley fell out of the state rankings in mid-September even though they finished 16-4-0, shared the MAC Red Division crown with Utica Eisenhower and reached the regional finals for the first time since 1995.
“I’m proud of the way the kids played,” said veteran Chippewa Valley coach Gerry Haggarty. “We weren’t expected to be here. We weren’t even ranked for the most part all year. We were right there with them.”
The Big Reds had captured just their fourth district title in the past 25 years last week, but could not get over the hump with the major upset and first regional crown in school history.
“We did what we were supposed to do and maybe we should be in a shootout right now. But the luck wasn’t our way. That’s just a bad bounce,” added Haggarty. “We did a nice job coming back on them and not giving up. It’s hard to go out that way. A 17-year-old goalkeeper played such a great game only to lose with a few seconds left.”
Trailing 1-0 late in regulation, Chippewa Valley scored on a counterattack with 9:41 remaining when Ribao headed in a 30-yard free kick from senior Anthony Prenkocevic just inside the left post. The Big Reds even had a screamer from Prenkocevic saved by Athens senior keeper Jason Kemp with 3:44 left.
Athens came out on fire and held an 8-4 shots edge over the first 40 minutes with four cornerkicks in that span.
The Red Hawks took a 1-0 lead with 27:57 remaining in the first half when junior Jack Musto sent a bending cornerkick into the box and senior Jaden Makowski volleyed it home.
Kemp surrendered two goals in a match for just the second time this season and third time over two seasons.
“We don’t give up very many goals,” said Heugh, whose team has yielded only 18 goals over the past two seasons, including 11 this season. “This was only the second time all year we gave up two goals in a game. With the schedule we play, that’s not easy to do. But when they tied it up in overtime, we responded with a few shots and eventually scored the game-winner.”
Ramos finished with 11 saves for Chippewa Valley, which last captured a district in 2014 and played in only its second regional finals. The Big Reds lost to Athens in the 1995 Class A regional finals, 3-1.
TROY ATHENS BY THE NUMBERS
State Championships — 5
State Runners-Up — 2
Final Four Appearances — 11
Regional Championships — 11
Regional Finals Appearances — 13
District Championships — 18
League Championships — 18
District Runners-Up — 11
Regional Runners-Up — 2
NOTE — In 1996, the MHSAA inserted a state quarterfinals game between the regional championship round and state semifinals round in Class A and Class B only. In 1997, the MHSAA switched to four even divisions and the quarterfinals game was removed from the state tournament. Athens lost in the district semifinals that season, so that had no bearing effect on these statistics. The first state title for Athens came in the old Michigan Suburban Soccer Coaches Tournament (coaches association), which held smaller state tournaments from 1974 through 1981. The MHSAA began sponsoring a state tournament in 1982 and has done so for 38 school years.
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