Not a single goal could be mustered between the Wootton Patriots and Churchill Bulldogs boys soccer teams in regulation, or the first overtime period on Oct. 21. A scoreless final in this heated rivalry was avoided with just 56 seconds remaining in the second overtime period, when senior midfielder/forward Jeff Robinson’s cross was finished near the far post by senior forward Josh Kamdjou to give the Patriots a 1-0 victory.

"I got the ball on the wing, and created some space with a step-over move," Robinson said. "At the end [of the play], I was beginning to cramp so I just hit a hard, low cross. When I looked up, the ball was in the net."

Robinson, along with senior forward Stephen Ho, accounted for much of Wootton’s offense on the night.

The Patriots’ success this season can be attributed to their talented, senior-laden lineup. It features defender Jason Greenberg, midfielders Robinson, Ho and Drew Ricci, along with St. John’s University commit Matt Harlow. Their leadership and experience has paid dividends in close games, as Wootton has won three straight contests by one-goal margins.

"[Our leadership] probably starts with Jason Greenberg," Wootton head coach Doug Schuessler said. "He’s one of our starting defenders, a three-year starter and captain. He’s not a guy that leads with his voice; he leads with his actions on the field. He’s very calm, very steady, he sets a great example for everybody on the field. He anchors us in a lot of different ways."

Both teams had numerous scoring chances, but the back lines, led by Greenberg and Churchill senior captain Cameron Kidwell, thwarted those threats for 99 out of a possible 100 minutes of play. Churchill freshman forward Patrick Tshiani ignited the Bulldogs’ attack, but could not capitalize near the goal.

For the Bulldogs, a disappointing season is further diminished following a game they felt they let slip away.

"Of course, it hurts a great deal," Churchill head coach Arnold Tarzy said. "What makes it hurt even more, is that we’ve suffered through a tough season. With injuries to really, really important impact players on our team, we finally found a way to get results and we dominated large stretches of the match. … Soccer can be such a cruel game. The better team doesn’t always have to win, and that night, the better team didn’t."

Although a blowout yields no more than a one-goal victory does in the standings, the Patriots hope to curb their habit of playing these tightly contested games as the postseason approaches.

"I think that we’ve had an interesting run towards the end [of the season]," Schuessler said. "We haven’t necessarily always been playing well, but we’ve been playing just well enough. That worries me a little bit because teams raise their intensity come playoff time. … We tend to play up to our level of our competition, but we also sometimes play down to it."

Despite their close margins of victory, the Patriots are clicking at the right time and are poised to make a championship run.
"It’s a good sign that no matter what the situation, our guys keep fighting until the end," Schuessler said.

Wootton, the No. 5 seed in the 4A West state tournament bracket, will host No. 12 Whitman in the opening round at 6 p.m. Saturday. Wootton was 7-3-3 entering Tuesday’s action.

No. 13 Churchill (4-9) will travel to face No. 4 Blair.