By Mike Finnerty
mike.finnerty@surewestsports.com
Staring down what appeared to be a 1-0 loss to the Granite Bay Grizzlies for the Division II soccer section championship, Bella Vista Broncos’ senior Tex Gossett scored the game-tying goal on a header with a minute left to play in regulation, before eventually going on to beat the defending champion Grizzlies in a penalty kick shootout (5-2) to claim this year’s title.
“I’m overjoyed,” said Bella Vista head coach Zack Contreras. “I can’t express the emotions I have, and it’s more for the players because we’ve got our seniors that are leaving.”
Last year Granite Bay shutout Bella Vista in the championship game, 4-0, but this year scoring would be a challenge for the Grizzlies. Granite Bay’s only goal came on a header by Andrew Stabbert with 9:05 left in the opening half, but the Grizzlies pressured and threatened offensively throughout the first half and come up short.
In the second half, Bella Vista was more aggressive, and as a result that led to Bella Vista getting several looks at the goal until that aggressive play finally paid off on the Gossett score.
“(Preston Davis) He and Tex Gosssett, Tex is a senior, he (Gossett) stepped in this year,” said Contreras. “He (Gossett) didn’t play last year and he really filled a big, big gap when we lost a CDA player. Those boys are very resilient, so yeah, my emotions are high, it’s all for them. It’s wonderful. “
Both teams came up scoreless following a pair of 10-minute overtime periods, so it all came down to penalty kicks. Bella Vista never missed, and Granite Bay missed twice, with one shot hitting the left bar and the other connecting on the crossbar, and that proved to be the difference.
“I knew we were going to get opportunities. Since yesterday, I had this feeling we would do something dramatic because the team has done this all year long. These boys are very resilient. Something magical happen. It sure did,” said Contreras.
The win was Bella Vista’s third overall soccer section title, and its second in Division II with the last D-II championship coming in 2003. Bella Vista’s most recent section championship was in Division III back in 2008.