The Tigers defended their home turf, winning the 4th Annual Hargrave Soccer Classic in dramatic fashion with two penalty-kick shootout victories. Hargrave earned impressive victories over Benedictine and then avenged an early season loss to Southwest Virginia Homeschool in the championship match.
In the opening round matchup, Hargrave and Benedictine played about as even of a match as you could play, with Benedictine only holding a lead for 15 minutes total, as goals from Gisa Rugema (Kigali, RWANDA) and Usman Adegbenro (Richmond, VA) acted as quick equalizers. “We spend a lot of time on set pieces and to see the kids finish them in matches shows that our hard work is starting to pay off,” said Head Coach Jeremy Eubank.
Both teams remained even during the two period of extra time and all the fans at Simpson Parade Field got to witness one of the best events in all sports-a penalty-kick shootout. Heading into the penalty-kick shootout, it was senior goalkeeper Hayden Everett (Danville, VA) who came up with the game-winning save as the Tigers took the penalty-kick shootout 9-8, advancing to the championship match.
With the threat of inclement weather on the horizon, the Tigers took the pitch against Southwest Virginia Homeschool with a chance to not only win the tournament championship but avenge a 5-4 early season loss in the process. Fatigue was a factor for both teams in the early part of the match, considering it was both teams second match of the day and the humidity seemed to be persistent all day. However, Usman Adegbenro (Richmond, VA) broke the scoreless tie in the 20th minute as he finished off a beautiful through ball from Daniel Pierce (Newport Beach, CA). Southwest Virginia Homeschool, not phased by Adegbenro’s goal, added two goals over the next fifteen minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Chad Demarest (Naples, FL) exhibited great ball control throughout the entire tournament and in the waning minutes of the first half, placed a perfect ball to the feet of Julio Galindo (Bay Islands, HONDURAS) for the equalizer. Southwest Virginia Homeschool added a late goal and took a 3-2 lead into halftime. “Having already played this season, we knew we would be in for a tough matchup with these guys. The first match was back and forth for all 80 minutes and our guys were well aware of that,” said Eubank.
Southwest Virginia Homeschool added an early second half goal and looked to put the Tigers away, as they held on to the 4-2 lead into the 65th minute. Demarest brought the Tigers within one goal as he finished off a cross from Gabe Powers (Roswell, GA) which set the stage for an incredible finish. On a quick counter, Demarest placed a perfect pass in the box and Rugema volleyed it in to the back of the net in the 78th minute, setting up the second extra time match of the day for Hargrave.
Fatigue was again a factor in the extra time periods, as both teams struggled to create any scoring opportunities which set up Hargrave’s second penalty-kick shootout of the day. The Tigers left no doubt, burying all five of their kicks into the back of the net and experienced a little bit of serendipity as Southwest Virginia Homeschool kicked one wide, en route to the 4th Annual Hargrave Soccer Classic championship.
“Going to penalty kicks in our earlier match prepared us to finish the championship match strong. I felt this would give us a competitive edge. You could see it when our kids stepped up for their penalty kicks, they exuded a high level of confidence,” stated Eubank. “To have played over 180 minutes in today’s two matches and to win in such dramatic fashion should be a huge confidence builder heading into VIC play next week.”
Box Scores:
Hargrave v. Benedictine
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | FT | ET1 | ET2 | PKs | Final | |
| Benedictine | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Hargrave | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
Goals:
5′ – Benedictine
15′ – Hargrave – Rugema (Assisted by Demarest)
50′ – Benedictine
55′ – Hargrave – U. Adegbenro (Unassisted)
Saves:
Hargrave – Everett (8 saves)
Hargrave v. Southwest Virginia Homeschool
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | FT | ET1 | ET2 | PKs | Final | |
| Southwest Virginia Homeschool | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Hargrave | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Goals:
20′ – Hargrave – U. Adegbenro (Assisted by Pierce)
25′ – Southwest Virginia Homeschool
33′ – Southwest Virginia Homeschool
38′ – Hargrave – Galindo (Assisted by Demarest)
40′ – Southwest Virginia Homeschool
50′ – Southwest Virginia Homeschool
64′ – Hargrave – Demarest (Assisted by Powers)
78′ – Hargrave – Rugema (Assisted by Demarest)
Saves:
Hargrave – Everett (8 saves)
Hargrave – D. Clinton (8 saves)
4th Annual Hargrave Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team
Goalkeeper – Henry Hunt (Benedictine)
Fullback – Evan Deloria (Benedictine)
Fullback – Trokon Woods (Fork Union Military Academy)
Centerback – Jackson Lloyd (Fork Union Military Academy)
Centerback – Nate Goad (Southwest Virginia Homeschool)
Midfielder – Gisa Rugema (Hargrave)
Midfielder – Micah Clark (Southwest Virginia Homeschool)
Winger – Usman Adegbenro (Hargrave)
Winger – John Colizzi (Benedictine)
Forward – Julio Galindo (Hargrave)
Forward – Timmy Vaughn (Southwest Virginia Homeschool)
Player of the Tournament – Chad Demarest (Hargrave)
