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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Whether it’s offseason workouts at 7 a.m. or summer soccer in a different state, Glendale junior Andrei Balanean loves a challenge.
And Wednesday night presented a big one.
In a flash, Springfield Catholic erased Glendale’s 2-0 lead in the second half of the Class 3 District 5 Tournament championship game.
Readjust in the final 10 minutes and play for overtime, perhaps?
“Nope,” Balanean said. “I was thinking, ‘Let’s get it now. Let’s get a goal and go home.’”
Challenge accepted.
Balanean netted the game-winning goal in the 80th minute – with 18 seconds left in regulation – to give Glendale a thrilling 3-2 victory over Catholic.
“It got pretty stressful when (Catholic) came back, for sure, but I took it as a challenge, an opportunity,” he said. “Like I was thinking, ‘I need to score another goal for our team.’”
The victory marks Glendale’s 10th straight district championship and 25th overall.
“This is what our tradition is, this is who we were,” said Glendale coach Jeff Rogers. “It doesn’t mean you’re always going to win. But we’re going to put our kids in these games and find success.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Glendale (24-3 overall) will host either Neosho or Bolivar on Saturday, November 13 in the Class 3 state quarterfinals.
Bolivar hosts Neosho on Thursday night in the District 6 championship game. Glendale beat both teams during the regular season.
The Falcons will enter the playoffs coming off one of the most memorable wins in program history.
On a desperation corner kick in the final seconds, the ball found its way to Glendale’s midfielder turned striker.
Known more for his passing and playmaking, Balanean seized the moment.
“I think the ball got deflected somehow,” said Balanean, who also scored the first goal of Wednesday’s match. “Then (the ball) came to me, I saw an opportunity and took it. I just had to tap it in.”
Rogers said it was a fitting moment for a player who has one of the best work ethics on the team.
“I’m happy for him because he’s the kid that shows up early with a bag of balls,” Rogers said. “He’s here in the summer at 7 a.m. shooting. He went to North Carolina this summer to play there. When you see his work ethic and his desire to be a great player, it comes out on the field. He wants to be improving his game all the time.”
The match took a decisive turn in the 67th minute, as Gage Vehr scored to bring Catholic within 2-1.
Seconds later, Catholic senior Ashton Vinton got free on a breakaway and scored the equalizer.
“Once that first goal goes in, they have all the momentum. Then they jumped right on top of us by scoring that next one right after,” Rogers said. “We lost our composure a little bit.
“But I knew, with this group, one thing they do well is score goals.”
The Falcons otherwise controlled the majority of Wednesday’s match.
Balanean put Glendale ahead early, scoring off a feed from Camden Meyer in the fourth minute.
The Falcons made it 2-0 shortly after halftime when Balanean played a corner kick to Alex Spence.
Spence drilled his shot just inside the far post from about 35 yards out for his 30th goal of the season.
Catholic finishes 16-6 overall and graduates eight seniors.
The Irish have suffered four straight one-goal losses to Glendale.
