South Tama on losing end of high-scoring match this time

DES MOINES - South Tama won't go home with the first-place trophy it wanted, but it has certainly been the most dramatic team in Des Moines this year.

The No. 8 seed Trojans equalized twice in the second half of their Class 2A semifinal against DeWitt Central at Cownie Soccer Park Friday, sending the game to overtime tied 3-3 before falling in a penalty-kick shootout.

This hectic game came a day after South Tama (18-4) knocked off top-seeded Sioux City Bishop Heelan in a wild 3-2 affair.

'We've done it before, so we could do it again,” South Tama captain Adrian Castanon said.

Castanon was the only one of South Tama's three top scorers on the field for the majority of the two overtime sessions, as Lanssana Mohr went down with a cramp and Jerry Lowe was shown a yellow card.

That left the Trojans without their top weapons and playing for a shootout they didn't want.

'I think we went to PKs once all year so that wasn't a situation we wanted to be in, but we had 100 minutes to win that game,” South Tama head coach Justin Tayner said. 'If we didn't then, we didn't deserve it.”

DeWitt Central's Justin Schwennen made the big save, stopping Lowe's attempt, the third for South Tama.

All five Sabers converted their penalty kicks to send their school to its first ever boys' state soccer final.

'We make it this far during the game, just to lose like that,” Castanon said. 'It kind of sucks.”

Castenon assisted on the first equalizer, sending a beautiful ball into the box that Mohr touched into the net in the 47th minute. That came just five minutes after Nick Costello gave the Sabers an early second-half lead.

Wade Sandry put DeWitt Central back in front by heading in a header from Costello off a corner kick. Once again, South Tama answered, with Mohr hitting the net from the top of the box.

'These guys, they've got a lot of heart,” Tayner said. 'Anytime we give up a goal, they come right back and get one. These guys encourage each other to stay positive to allow that to happen.”

Castanon gave South Tama its only lead of the game, taking a back heel pass from Lowe and finishing in the 16th minute. Brady Baxter tied the score when his shot from distance skipped through keeper Gabriel Rivera-Valdovinos' legs.

DeWitt Central (19-1) won the regular season meeting as well, 2-1 on April 14 and will face Xavier for the title.

'We showed them it wasn't going to be easy,” Castanon said. 'We wanted it as much as they did.”

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