DRUID HILLS — Kenny Barrera was a one-man wrecking crew for East Hall Friday night in the Vikings’ first round matchup with Druid Hills.
The junior goalkeeper stopped one penalty kick and then scored the game-winning penalty kick to secure the Vikings’ thrilling 2-1 win to advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
It was a defensive battle throughout with the game ending in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation. It stayed scoreless through the first overtime.
Druid Hills would break the tie with seven minutes remaining in the second overtime off a counterattack. But two minutes later, East Hall’s Jonathan Torres received the ball near midfield, took a couple of dribbles and blasted a shot from 40 yards out that found the top right corner of the net to tie the game. The two overtimes ended with the teams tied at 1 and headed for penalty kicks.
In the penalty shootout, Angel Perez scored first for the Vikings. Barrera then stopped Druid Hill's first PK. Amado Valladarez scored the second Pk for East Hall, followed by Ranferi Lara-Chavez.
Druid Hills made their next two kicks and the Vikings Eden Castrejon hit the right post but did not find the back of the net. Barrera stepped up for the Vikings to take their fifth kick and buried it to seal the win.
A young but improving East Hall squad (9-8-1) is looking to get back to the championship match for a second straight season. They have now won 9 of their last 13 matches and improved to 4-3 in one-goal games.
Next up for the Vikings will be a trip to Spalding in the second round next week.
In other action on the night, also in Class 4A, the Jefferson boys and girls swept into the second round at home. The Lady Dragons steamrolled Hapeville Charter, 11-1, while the boys whipped Stephenson, 8-0.
In Class 2A, the Union County boys beat Elite School Academy 8-2 while the Rabun County boys blanked Towers, 6-0.
The Buford boys, however, could not get past No. 5 Lassiter in Class 6A, falling 4-0 to the Trojan on the road.
FIRST ROUND SOCCER PLAYOFF SCORES
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
Class 6A
Lassiter boys 4, Buford 0
Class 4A
East Hall boys 2, Druid Hills 1 (PKs, 4-3)
Jefferson boys 8, Stephenson 0
Jefferson girls 11, Hapeville Charter 0
Class 2A
Union County boys 8 Elite School Academy 2
Rabun County boys 6, Towers 0
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
Class 6A
Habersham Central girls 1, Kennesaw Mountain 0
Buford girls 4, Wheeler 0
Class 4A
Marist girls 7, East Hall 0
Marist boys 1, Flowery Branch 0
Class 2A
Lovett girls 11, Banks County 0
Pace Academy girls 10, Rabun County 0
Pace Academy boys 11, Riverside Military 1
Union County girls 10, Therrell 0
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
Class 5A
Johnson boys 5, Chapel Hill 2
Class 3A
East Forsyth boys 6, Sandy Creek 2
East Jackson boys 3, Sonoraville 0
GAC boys 5, Cherokee Bluff 1
West Hall boys 10, Salem 0
Class A Public
Drew Charter boys 6, Commerce 0
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
Class 5A
Jackson County girls 10, Chapel Hill 0
Class 3A
Cherokee Bluff girls 10, Cedar Grove
Coahulla Creek girls 2, East Jackson 1
Westminster girls 10, East Forsyth 0
Lumpkin County girls 11, Sandy Creek 1
GAC girls 5, White County 0
Class A Public
Towns County girls 1, Armuchee 0
Commerce girls 11, Trion 1
Class A Private
Lakeview Academy girls 6, George Walton 1
(Area teams listed in BOLD)
