With less than 6 minutes remaining in Wednesday’s Class 4A semifinal at Mediacom Stadium, the boys’ soccer season appeared to be all but over for top-ranked Ankeny Centennial.
The Jaguars trailed No. 9 Des Moines Roosevelt, 3-1, and had not found the net since Tate Duax scored the game’s first goal on a penalty kick at the 7:48 mark.
“Everybody in the stadium probably thought we were done,” Duax said. “But you’ve got to give it a shot, and we did. And it ended up in our favor.”
Duax gave his team some hope with an unassisted goal in the 75th minute. Then, just 38 seconds later, Marcus Gabriel headed in a free kick by Brock Brazeau for the equalizer.
The game eventually went to overtime, but it didn’t take much longer for Centennial to find the net again. Brazeau scored the golden goal off an assist by Duax just 50 seconds into the extra period, sending the Jaguars into Friday’s championship game in thrilling fashion.
“We were down two goals, and I’m sure most of us thought it was over,” said Brazeau. “But I believed in me and my teammates. It felt good to win in overtime and celebrate in the corner (of the field). It felt amazing!”
Centennial coach Brian Duax was proud of his players for not giving up when the odds were stacked against them. The Jaguars trailed for only the third time this season and had never before faced a two-goal deficit.
“Kudos to Roosevelt and to (coach) Matt Ream,” he said. “They had a fantastic game plan that threw us off our game. We played too much boom ball in the first half and fell into the trap of playing somebody that likes to go big. We didn’t compete hard enough. But you take the last few minutes and compete hard, good things happen I guess.
“This group is pretty composed, and we’re pretty senior-led. It can happen in any moment and you can score goals in a hurry. We changed formations a little bit, got a little bit more offensive, and good things happened,” he added.
The Jaguars (17-0-2) relied on two of their senior leaders for the game-winner. Brazeau passed the ball ahead to Duax, then made a run toward the goal and got the ball back.
Brazeau fired a shot past Roosevelt keeper Cullen Arnold as he slid on the turf. It was by far the biggest of his six goals this season.
“I played it to Tate and kind of went around him,” Brazeau said. “I saw a little pocket open and he played me the ball, took a touch and kind of slid when I hit it, and it went in.”
Duax needed another goal for a hat trick, but he found another way to end the game on a sunny afternoon.
“Brock played me the ball, I checked over my shoulder and they dropped off, and I started dribbling out and saw him make that run,” Duax said. “I just passed it in behind, and I knew he was going to finish it.”
Duax gave the Jaguars an early lead after being fouled in the box by Roosevelt’s Andrew Douglas. But the Roughriders (14-3-3) then responded with three unanswered goals in a span of 21 minutes.
After Roosevelt’s Henry Trettin was tripped in the box by Mace Nithang in the 23rd minute, the Roughriders tied the game when Kasongo Lunganga converted the ensuing penalty kick.
Then, less than 8 minutes later, Roosevelt took the lead when Lunganga scored again for his eighth goal of the postseason. He was there for the rebound when a shot by Trettin went under the arm of diving Centennial goalkeeper Will Krueger and deflected off the back post.
Later in the half, Krueger left the game after colliding with Lunganga in front of the net. That forced Centennial’s backup keeper, Sawyer Goble, onto the field.
“It was definitely a surprise,” Goble said. “I saw him go down and I was like, ‘Uh oh.’ So I threw on my gloves and warmed up a little bit. I definitely think I rose to the occasion.”
However, the Roughriders extended their lead early in the second half. Trettin scored his team-leading 16th goal off an assist by Jack Washburn to make it 3-1 in the 44th minute.
“We made some mistakes that led to the goals, but I believe in God and he’s my savior,” Gabriel said. “He got me through this. Thank you Lord.”
The Jaguars capitalized on Roosevelt’s mistakes to tie the game in the final minutes. Duax received a pass from Brazeau and cut the deficit to 3-2 when he tapped the ball into the net after some miscommunication between Arnold and defender Henry Curtis.
It was Duax’s 28th goal of the year, which leads Class 4A and ranks 12th in the entire state.
“I definitely was confident that they could come back,” Goble said of his teammates. “We got to 10 minutes left and I was like, ‘We have to keep going. We have to keep going.’ They really kicked it in there.”
Shortly therafter, Arnold passed the ball to defender Enoch Chea on the right side. Chea attempted to advance the ball, but came up empty and had it swiped away by Duax, who was then fouled by Chea just outside the box as he attempted to attack the goal.
That led to the free kick by Brazeau and the header by Gabriel for the equalizer. Gabriel’s first goal of the season could not have come at a better time.
“Brock passed it to me, and I saw the ball go in,” Gabriel said. “All the emotions kicked in, and I was celebrating with the boys. It was a good time to come back.”
Brazeau was confident that the Jaguars’ momentum would lead to yet another goal.
“As soon as Marcus put in that free kick, I knew we were going to put it away soon,” he said. “I just had faith in my boys, put it in God’s hands, and it worked out for us.”
Both coach Duax and his son marveled at the team’s comeback.
“Holy buckets. That’s why you have heart attacks,” coach Duax said. “That’s why you get gray hair. Holy crap.”
“That’s by far the craziest game I’ve ever played,” added Tate Duax. “Obviously it feels great, and hopefully we can do it again Friday.”
The Jaguars will play No. 2 Waukee Northwest (19-1-1) for the crown on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The Wolves advanced with a 1-0 win over No. 4 Urbandale, getting the game’s only goal on a penalty kick by Eman Alicic at the 76:16 mark.
Centennial opened the season on April 7 with a stunning 5-0 win at Northwest, handing the Wolves their worst loss in program history. But Northwest hasn’t lost since.
The Jaguars may need Goble to step up in goal again.
“I couldn’t tell you as of right now,” Goble said when asked about Krueger’s status for Friday. “But I’m going to come for it all if they need me.”
This will be Centennial’s second appearance in the title game. The Jaguars placed second in Class 3A in 2015.
