Soccer: Heritage holds off Devils in overtime semifinal

By Kris Freeman for White House High School

PORTLAND – The White House Blue Devils held on to the very end on Monday night in the District 9-AA semifinals at Portland High School, but White House Heritage was able to score with 7:08 to go and capture a season-advancing victory for the Patriots.

Wesley Moore had a goal for the Devils in the first half and it was the lone tally of the game for WHHS.

White House and Heritage were tied at 1-1 at the half and carried the deadlock into two 10-minute overtime periods, with both teams switching sides in the middle of the OT sessions. A scoreless first 10 minutes left the game 1-1, and then the Patriots put home the eventual game winner with just over seven to play.

Because of overtime rules, the teams had to finish the overtime session for the game to be official, since it is not sudden death (or golden goal). Had the game remained tied, the teams would have advanced to penalty kicks.

White House had several offensive chances in the final minutes and could not cash in to tie the game.

Nevertheless, the Devils season came to a close with the Patriots advancing to play Greenbrier on Wednesday in the District 9-AA championship game. Greenbrier is the number one seed.

White House finished the year against a tough, difficult schedule, with games against Brentwood, CPA and Merrol Hyde in the final week. White House had lost earlier in the year to White House Heritage by a score of 2-0.

“It has been a tough year at times,” said White House head coach Mark Lamberth. “But we played hard last night and I am proud of the boys. We played our best game of the year at the end.”

Photos by Lily Frakes