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NASHVILLE WEATHER

Ravenwood comes from behind to top Centennial, advance to district semis




RHS/CHSDavid Russell

RHS/CHSDavid Russell

Ravenwood midfielder Reese Douglas didn’t even know he had scored. But once he heard the roar from the home crowd and looked up to see the ball slowly crossing the goal line and into the net, Douglas realized he put his team in the lead. 

“I thought the keeper caught it at first,” Douglas said. “It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but it doesn’t matter how you score the goal as long as you score the goal.”

Douglas’s header in the 48th minute wound up being the game-winner for the Raptors in their 2-1 comeback win over the Cougars in the district quarterfinals on Thursday night, ending Centennial’s season and keeping Ravenwood’s alive for at least a few more days. 

The result couldn’t have come at a better time for the Raptors, who entered the district tournament on a three-game losing streak and winless in their last five games. They hadn’t won a match since April 9, a 5-1 victory over Summit. 

Tuesday’s game was also Senior Night for Ravenwood as they honored their five seniors in what will likely be the last home match of their careers, which made the victory even sweeter.

 

 

“You always want your seniors to win their last game at home, so I’m really happy for them and I’m happy with the way we played,” Ravenwood coach Adam Harris said. 

The Raptors got off to a bumpy start when a Centennial lead pass in the 8th minute drew Ravenwood goalkeeper Joey Goslak out of the box, but Centennial midfielder Blake Henke beat Goslak to the ball and tapped a shot past him to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead. 

But Ravenwood responded quickly, using their speed to put pressure on the Cougars’ backline, and they were rewarded in the 22nd minute with the equalizer after Ravenwood winger Sisay Putty sent a pass to midfielder Jaydon Chisholm at the top of the box. Chisholm quickly turned around and fired a shot across his body and past diving Centennial goalkeeper Lukas Kunz to tie the game at 1-1. 

“We didn’t get down and we came back with some chances that gave the momentum back for us,” Harris said. “That first goal for us was huge, and we just didn’t look back after that.” 

The Raptors continued their attacking posture and nearly took the lead in the 27th minute, but Kunz made a diving save off a free kick that went off the post. Ravenwood midfielder Ethan Glass was right there for the rebound, but his point-blank shot went wide, and the match remained even.

That was until early in the second half, when Ravenwood’s Putty delivered a cross into the box in the 48th minute. Douglas was charging in and leaped into the air, hoping to connect with the ball before Kunz could snatch it out of the air. Fortunately for Douglas, he got just enough of it to send it into the back of the net and give the Raptors the lead. 

Centennial had one last golden opportunity to tie the game in the 67th minute when a defensive miscue by Ravenwood deep in their own territory gave Centennial’s Blake Dreiman the ball right on the edge of the box with a clear path to the night. But Dreiman’s shot was blocked and deflected away at the last second by a Ravenwood defender to neutralize the threat. 

“We were fighting the entire game and we’ve come a long way since the last time we played them,” said Centennial coach Ben Sohrabi, referring to the Cougars’ 6-1 loss to Ravenwood on April 2. “We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we performed well as a team and the future is bright.”

Now Ravenwood, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 2 seed Independence Eagles in the district semifinals on Tuesday, May 7. The Eagles defeated the Raptors by three goals on April 23 to clinch a first-round bye, and the Raptors are hoping for a different result to keep their season alive. 

“They put it on us really good when we were down there, but we have some momentum and we’re looking forward to it,” Harris said.   

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