SACO — South Portland defeated Thornton Academy, 3-2, in a thriller that went all the way to penalty kicks Wednesday night at Hill Stadium.

The Trojans began the first half looking sharp and fast, able to win the possession battle and apply pressure on the South Portland defense. At only three minutes into the contest, the Trojans created a fast-paced drive that led to a goal by senior Cameron Twombly from 10 yards out, assisted by junior Noah Goren.

Despite the relentless attack of TA, South Portland’s defense played extremely strong throughout the half and cut Trojan drives short multiple times. One of which was a drive led by TA senior Dan Marsh, after he turned a steal into a breakaway that made it within 15 yards of the net to only be stuffed by South Portland goalie Riley Hasson.

Another strength of the Red Riots’ defense was their ability to defend corner kicks. In the first half, the Trojans attempted five corner kicks but failed to convert any into goals.

Thornton Academy immediately gained control in the second half as well.

With 26:13 remaining, senior Dalton Moore set a beautiful pass to fellow senior Simon Trcka, who then booted it from about 15 yards out for the score, putting the Trojans up 2-0.

After falling behind by two, it was clear that a sense of urgency hit South Portland.

That urgency paid off seven minutes later, at the 19:02 mark, when South Portland’s Ahmed Suja shot from close range that led to a save by TA goalie Andrew Coleman. However, sophomore Charlie Cronin was there to launch the deflected ball into the top right corner of the goal, putting South Portland on the board.

This offensive surge continued for the Red Riots, who attempted four more shots in the next two minutes – one of which was deflected off the cross bar.

The Trojans held off the Red Riots attack until there was 2:40 remaining when a tripping penalty gave Khalid Suja the opportunity to tie the game on a penalty kick. Suja took advantage and sent the kick into the back of the net, tying the score at 2-2.

Although some may have counted South Portland out, coach Bryan Hoy believed in his team’s ability to play strong in the second half of games.

“We started playing better towards the end of the first half, that’s when we started clicking. These guys came into the second fired up, we usually play better in the second,” said Hoy.

The elements also played a factor in this game, as the wind and rain progressively strengthened to near downpour conditions in the second half.

Hoy admits that his team may have actually lucked out with the change in conditions.

“We had the wind on our side the second half which was huge. When your punts are able to travel an extra 30, 40 yards to your strikers, you’re good to go. That really led to us putting more pressure on their defense,” said Hoy.

The first overtime was a stalemate, with both teams equally as aggressive, especially South Portland’s Ahmed Suja and TA’s Edwin Kayumba, who both took multiple shots in the shortened period.

It was not until the second overtime when it was clear that fatigue began taking its toll on the two teams. As the minutes waned, both teams began slowing down and it seemed that penalty kicks were all but assured.

After a marathon of a game, the Red Riots outshot TA 4-2 in the first set, including the gamewinner by Antoine. Other South Portland scorers were Khalid Suja, Ahmed Suja and Alecks Kaurin. TA scorers were Chase Pierce and Keegan Fowler.

Hoy was complimentary of his team’s physical endurance, which was much needed for this game.

“They are in incredible shape, a few of them are cramping now, but a lot of them played 110 minutes today. These guys love playing, they play all the time, they’re extremely fit,” said Hoy.

Hoy believes that this game not only helps his team’s confidence, but it also better prepares them moving forward in the tournament.

“It helps our confidence … it shows that we can come back. If we do go down Saturday, we know we will have it in us to come back. This experience also helps us with handling PKs and working through overtime, it’s huge for us going forward,” said Hoy.

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.