Dreher gets its kicks vs. Chapin

Dreher’s Cody Bach and Chapin’s Sailor Chason are two of the better goalkeepers in the Midlands, so when the two Class 3A boys soccer powers were heading to penalty kicks Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium, the long-time friends had a brief conversation about how much fun they were getting ready to have.

Bach enjoyed it a little more, as he blocked two of three penalty kicks to give the No. 5 Blue Devils a 3-2 (4-1 in PK’s) victory over the top-ranked Eagles.

“We were just talking about how much fun we’re about to have and how good of a game it’s been,” Bach said. “We’ve known each other for a while – playing against each other and going to keeper training together – so we’re pretty close. It was just a fun time.”

Dreher (15-2-1, 8-1) avenged an earlier 6-0 beating and tied Chapin (14-3, 8-1) atop the Region 4-3A standings with one regular season contest remaining. The Eagles own the tiebreaker on goal differential, but the win solidifies the No. 2 spot in the region for Dreher and a momentum boost going into the playoffs.

“That’s a state championship contender year in and year out,” Dreher coach Clark McCarthy said. “(Chapin coach Ben) Bosco does a great job and it was hard for us to even get to the PK’s. We took a beat down at their place last time and just came out and responded. Moving forward, hopefully we can build off of this win.”

Dreher received goals from Cole Gaston, Evan Phillips, Charles Anderson and Rodrigo Belchior during the penalty kicks, with Belchior’s being the clincher. Bach was able to guess left on the Eagles’ first attempt and then blocked the third shot by getting his hands up quickly to deflect a shot over his head.

“I just go off my instincts,” Bach said “I sort of knew where they were going. The second one, I just had to get my arms up.”

Chapin took a 1-0 lead at the half on the strength of a Smith Dawsey goal in the 31^st minute.

Dreher tied the score when Cole Gaston broke free and rifled a shot from about 20 yards that just snuck inside the corner of the net.

“We kind of tired the last 10 or 15 minutes of the first half and let them come at us,” McCarthy said. “Smith (Dawsey) hit a great shot and there was nothing we could do about it. Our backs were against the wall and we had 40 minutes and we knew it would take a little bit of luck and a whole lot of effort. We get a goal from Cole quick and that set us on a high for the rest of the half.”

Chapin responded with a goal from just inside the box by Tanner Martin in the 47^th minute to regain the lead, temporarily.

Dreher hit the final equalizer on a free kick from Walker Lahaise in the 58^th minute. He set the ball up from about 45 yards away after a penalty and hit a rifle shot that cleared all the defenders and found the back of the net.

Chapin coach Bosco thought the goal to open the second half was huge for momentum purposes.

“The goal to open the second half changed the momentum some,” he said. “It came from one of their best players and got their energy going. They’re well-coached and when they’re motivated like they were tonight, it’s tough to beat them.”

Bach feels like this could be the thing the Blue Devils needed heading into the playoffs.

“This is big going into the playoffs,” Bach said. “That was the No. 1 team in the state, maybe not anymore. I think we should jump up close to the top. But it’s just a great win for us.”

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Dreher gets its kicks vs. Chapin."