FENTON – Logan-Rogersville goalie Brady Goodson earned the nickname ‘Superman’ for the way he soars, leaps and flies to make saves.
And for the Wildcats to keep their undefeated season alive against Orchard Farm, Goodson needed to break out his cape.
“Before the tournament, we talked about him not having an incredible save this year and how it’s been pretty routine, and I said, ‘That’s going to change, so just be ready,'” Logan-Rogersville coach Brett Wubbena said.
Goodson recorded 10 saves, many of highlight-reel caliber, then rejected a final Eagles’ attempt during penalty kicks as Logan-Rogersville defeated Orchard Farm 1-0 (4-3 in PKs) in a Missouri State High School Athletic Association Class 2 semifinal Friday at Soccer Park.
Logan-Rogersville (26-0), which advanced to its first state championship game in program history, will face Westminster (19-5) for the Class 2 title at 4 p.m. Saturday at Soccer Park.
Orchard Farm (23-3), which lost in PKs in the state title game last season, will play Excelsior Springs (14-6) in the Class 2 third place game at 2:30 p.m.
Midway through the second overtime, Goodson made a play worthy of superhero status.
Orchard Farm senior Mark Bohning dribbled through defenders, approached the net and took a point blank shot that Goodson denied. The two collided and Bohning fell face down at the near post as the ball careened out to Eagles’ defender AJ Taylor.
Taylor noticed an open goal and blasted a 30-yard shot that was destined to be the game-winner, but Goodson rose to his feet, hopped on one leg to the front of the net and tipped the ball wide just as it was set to enter the goal.
“They’re goalie was incredible. He made some tremendous saves,” Orchard Farm coach Brandon Cox said.
His final save was equally impressive. With Logan-Rogersville leading 4-3 in PKs, Orchard Farm junior Damian Hervi Vique was the final hope for the Eagles. He launched a shot low and left and Goodson took flight, blocking the ball with his legs and sending the Logan-Rogersville faithful into a frenzy.
“Before the last PK, I just wanted to get the crowd riled up,” Goodson said. “I told myself to stay calm and read his body language. The crowd really pushed me to make that save.”
Orchard Farm began to assert its will early in the first half. Senior Logan Hazel used his size and strength to acquire real estate inside the box and wreak havoc. He blasted a left-footed laser that Goodson stopped and then ponged the short side pipe moments later.
Goodson made a diving two-hand stop on a strike from sophomore Brock Williams and denied another shot from in close off the right foot of Bohning, as the Eagles desperately searched for his kryptonite.
“It could have easily been a 5-0 or 6-0 game if we find the back of the net a couple times early, and that’s something we’ve done really well all year,” Cox said.
Despite not needing to be called upon much during the season, Goodson was in peak form during the semifinal.
“Towards the end of the season, everyone is talking about their keepers, and for the last couple of years, Brady hasn’t really had a ton of saves. Our defense has been pretty good. And it seems like every year, he’s getting less and less touches, but I’ve seen him do this at practice. He’s an outstanding goalie, and he showed it,” Wubbena said.
Strong defense by the Orchard Farm trio of Myles Murphy, Caden Tusler and Brent Weiss forced most Logan-Rogersville shots to originate from a distance well outside the box.
The best chances for the Wildcats came after the rejection of Orchard Farm corner kicks or offensive zone throw-ins sent them on transition opportunities, but both Weiss and Tusler made outstanding slide tackles in the midfield to prevent odd-man breaks.
In the second half, both Bohning and sophomore Nolan Hilsabeck missed the far post by inches and beautiful cross by junior Alex Jeffords required another flying leap from Goodson to prevent it from reaching its target.
“I thought we were doing what we needed to do. Our outside backs were getting free, our center mids were getting free, we were open and we were attacking,” Cox said.
For Goodson, enduring the second half onslaught required the Wildcats to enter survival mode.
“We were thinking, ‘Just get everything out’ because they were on us the entire half,” Goodson said.
In the first overtime, Logan-Rogersville began to find an offensive rhythm. Midfielders Conner Stewart and 45-goal scorer Stewart McDonald launched shots from the top of the box that required sharp, short-hop saves from Orchard Farm goalie Harrison Reineke.
In the second overtime, the Eagles made a last-ditch effort to win before the game went to PKs. A left-footed cross by junior Mason Campbell was headed into the crossbar by Hazel, and a blast by AJ Taylor sailed inches over the crossbar.
After an extremely physical 110 minutes, no winner had been decided.
“I thought every player on our team played well and played hard. It was a physical game and both teams played through it the whole game,” Cox said.
Hazel and Jeffords, usual penalty kick takers for the Eagles, both cramped up severely during the second overtime and could not participate in PKs.
During the PK session, Logan-Rogersville sent freshman Carson Callen, Stewart and McDonald to the spot and each converted their penalty kicks.
Reineke, who made seven saves during the game, stopped the PK attempt from Logan-Rogersville freshman Finlee Smith, but he was ruled to have come off the goal line too early and Smith converted the retry.
Williams, Taylor and Hilsabeck converted the first three attempts for Orchard Farm, but Mason Campbell’s strike sailed high and Hervi Vique’s attempt found the legs of Goodson.
“When I was preparing for the game I thought, ‘This game could be a battle of two goalies. Their goalie is incredible, our goalie is incredible,” Cox said.
But Goodson transformed from Mr. Incredible to Superman and sent Logan-Rogersville into the state title match for the first time in program history.
“Our defensive aspect was very good tonight, we stayed composed the entire game and our skill came through in the end,” Goodson said.