Timber Creek Strikes Late, Wins SJ Title on Penalty Kicks

Timber Creek's Michael DeFeo picked the perfect moment to put the ball in the net for the first time in his high-school soccer career.

Pegged as the final shooter by Timber Creek head coach Sean Ortzman, DeFeo buried a South Jersey Group III championship-winning penalty kick just over the outstretched hands of Ocean City goalkeeper Kieran Keyser and just under the crossbar to give the top-seeded Chargers their first sectional title in school history.

"I just told myself, 'I'm going to shoot it into the upper 90 and I'm going to make it, then I'm going to run over to the crowd,'" the senior midfielder said.

That's exactly what .

His penalty-kick conversion as the final shooter gave Timber Creek a 5-4 shootout win, sending Chargers players, coaches and fans into a frenzy on a blustery Friday afternoon at the Erial school.

The penalty-kick shootout was tied, 4-4, when Ocean City senior Andrew Kimball fired a shot just wide of the left post to set up DeFeo's heroics.

"It came down to the last shooter. It was pretty fitting for this game," first-year Ocean City head coach Aaron Bogushefsky said. "There is no shame in losing to a team like (Timber Creek)."

About a half-hour before the game went to penalty kicks, it looked like the No. 2 Red Raiders would win the South Jersey title in regulation time, 1-0, on a clutch goal by senior Steve Zellers.

Timber Creek sophomore Alex Kourahanis had other ideas, netting the game-tying goal with less than 2 minutes to play.

Ocean City controlled play during the first half, with its defenders using a physical style of play to prevent Timber Creek's talented senior scorers Jeffrey Morgan and Giussepe DeLuca from breaking free.

Sophomore Zack Sakena nearly gave the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead about 30 minutes into the game, but his diving header went just wide of the left post. The header was set up by senior Tristan Johns' beautiful cross from the left wing.

Morgan broke free for his first good scoring chance of the game about 15 minutes into the second half, but Keyser was up to the task.

That quality chance seemed to spark Morgan and the rest of the Chargers, though, and led to a more evenly played second half.

Five minutes after Morgan's scoring chance, Keyser came up with a huge save on a hard, deflected shot off Kourahanis' foot. It would not be the sophomore's last scoring effort.

Still in a scoreless tie, Johns fired an Ocean City free kick past a sprawling Timber Creek goalie Andrew Garcia, but the ball careened off the left post with about 15 minutes left in regulation.

Ocean City would not be denied, though.

Zellers put Ocean City up 1-0 with just 5:45 left in the second half on a beautiful shot from just inside the 18, beating a sprawling Garcia to his right.

Zellers took possession of the ball at the midfield circle on a nice spin move, then streaked down the field with the ball, fighting off a Timber Creek defender, in a tremendous solo effort.

Timber Creek (18-3-2) increased its offensive intensity following Zellers' goal, but never really came close to putting the ball past Keyser, as the Red Raiders (17-4-1) continued the stingy defensive play that marked their performance for almost the entire game.

That is, until Kourahanis broke free inside the box to bury the game-tying goal with about 1 minute, 40 seconds left in the second half.

"I just wanted to cry, honestly. It was the greatest feeling ever," Kourahanis said.

Ortzman was thrilled for his players, most of whom played in the team's 1-0 loss to Hammonton in the 2010 South Jersey Group III final exactly one year earlier.

The head coach spoke of watching the Chargers' celebration after the game-tying goal.

"It was awesome. It wasn't even me. It was them. They finished plays. When you finish plays, great things happen, and that's what happened," Ortzman said.

Timber Creek carried the play in overtime, by far coming up with more quality chances than Ocean City.

Timber Creek senior Sonimi Halliday nearly ended the game twice in overtime. He volleyed a ball just over the crossbar during the first overtime session, then followed up that effort with a rocket just wide of the left post in the second overtime.

Penalty kicks would determine the South Jersey Group III champion.

"I've watched them mature from kids, when they came in at 14 (years old)," Ortzman said of his seniors. "Now, they're all young men. I've got 15 young men and I'm proud to send them out into the real world. They're great kids. It's been great to have the honor to work with them."

Kourahanis was thrilled to be able to help his senior teammates get over the hump.

"It was all for them. They helped us out the whole season. They helped me out, improved my game. Without them, I would not be as good as I am right now," he said.

Timber Creek will play in a state Group III semifinals matchup next week. Check back with Gloucester Township Patch for details.