Peck's Amazing Three Minutes Almost Miraculous
Germantown, OH (September 7, 2004)— Imagine going to see a soccer game and finding a 0-2 score on the board. Now imagine taking a bathroom break, grabbing a hotdog or just chatting with a friend for a couple of minutes and then coming back to the game to find the score was 3-2.
That's exactly what happened when the Spartans hosted the Oakwood Lumberjacks Tuesday night at Barker field, three goals in three minutes. That's what I call excitement!
So exactly what happened before and after those three minutes and eight seconds?
Game plan, game plan, game plan and that's exactly how Coach Devin Stoutenborough entered the night.
"We had a game plan geared towards their best player, Scott Casebere," noted Stoutenborough.
The game plan was to keep the ball control, away from Casebere.
"In the first half we were doing well, but then with 9.5 minutes remaining I decided to make a substitution because it looked like we were getting a little tired and that's when Scott (Casebere) scored to them a 1-0 lead going into the half," commented Stoutenborough.
One goal down with 40 minutes to go never means things are over. They could mean things have just begun.
"We had out-shot them 10-7. We had been focusing on putting the ball on the frame," Stoutenborough said.
"We were struggling with the 50/50 balls from the goalie, but we came out looking pretty aggressive, but just couldn't get out shots in," Stoutenborough remarked.
As the second half moved right along, the Lumberjacks took a 35 yard shot to make the score 2-0. After that Jordan Donson was moved to the field, bringing a lot of hustle with him.
"I put Jordan in a regular uniform and put him on the field at the front line. He was really hustling. It brought the whole team up," Stoutenborough said.
Then, it became the Ryan Peck show. With 8:14 remaining Peck scored followed by another with 7:13 remaining to tie the game. With 6:06 remaining Peck scored again creating pandemonium in the Spartan grandstand.
Peck found room, and the presence of mind, to find three goals in three minutes and eight seconds. An amazing feat but, of course, he couldn't have done it alone.
"A minute and one second after Ryan scored he shot a left foot shot into the goal. That's when Donson came out and before he got back in, Peck had already scored again," Stoutenborough stated.
Immediately following the Spartans' third goal, a Valley View player took his shirt off during the celebration and was given a yellow card, awarding Oakwood a free kick. The kick that started momentum in the other direction. The Lumberjacks were then awarded another penalty kick, which tagged Donson's elbow before rolling to the back of the net.
The game ended in a tie, but I'm sure will forever be remembered.
"In the final 4-5 minutes of the game we out-shot them three or four to one, but couldn't break the tie," Stoutenborough said.
"Even though we had the possession and more shots we were still lacking something. I just didn't think we should've been down 2-0 at all during the game. We are a better team then they are," Stoutenborough noted.
With the tie against the Lumberjacks, Valley View's record changes to 2-1-1. They return to action tonight when they travel to Eaton.
"I think we have got to pull out with a victory, both junior varsity and varsity. I have seen them play both in a win and loss and I think we have a great game plan for them" concluded Stoutenborough.
