Taconic vs Chatham
October 15, 2021
This was one of the most extraordinary games I’ve ever witnessed. Chatham and Taconic Hills met up at Watervliet for their Patroon Conference tournament faceoff. The two teams had faced off a couple weeks earlier in the regular season with Chatham earning a 5-1 victory. Taconic clearly learned something from that match because they leaped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half.
But then Chatham was awarded a penalty kick after a Titan defender took down Chatham forward Tobias Jeralds as he came in on goal with a breakaway. Panther forward Miguel Casarrubias-Rivera put away the PK, narrowing the lead to 3-1.
And then the skies opened up and the rain poured down.
In the second half, the Panthers would convert another PK to pull within a goal of the Titans.
Chatham would pull out all the stops for a furious attack in the closing minutes of regulation. And in the scrum at Taconic’s goal mouth, a hand ball would result in yet another successful penalty kick for Chatham, knotting the game at three apiece.
Taconic quickly responded with a goal to restore their lead, making it 4-3. Chatham pressed its attack. Timothy Jeralds fired a shot on goal which the Taconic net minder stopped but couldn’t control the rebound, which was quickly put away by Tobias Jeralds, sending the game into overtime.
The two teams would battle back and forth in overtime, both getting numerous scoring chances. But with seconds to go, Timothy Jeralds would break free down the left side, firing to a pass to his older brother Tobias, who put it away for the win.
Chatham’s fans erupted as their team jumped all over each other in celebration. And then they stopped and pointed at the scoreboard, which showed that the winning goal had come with a single second left on the clock.
Chatham would need quite a bit of time to leave the field as the celebrated, in spite of the storm above them threatening to turn into a thunderstorm.
It was an unforgettable game. Both teams played with incredible heart and tenacity on a sloppy wet field. Enjoy all the rest of the images below.
