MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After keeper Matt Higgins made two tremendous saves with under five minutes remaining in Thursday evening’s state soccer match, McCallie coach Tony Meyers started to think his team might be headed for overtime.

Instead, the Blue Tornado were sent home from the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex with a 2-1 loss.

Father Ryan followed a throw-in with a go-ahead goal in the 88th minute of the Division II Class AA semifinal and will play for the championship today against Christian Brothers.

“I kind of thought about it when I looked up and there were about four minutes left,” Meyers said. “Then they had that one throw-in. We knew that kid could throw it a mile. Charles (Rodriguez) flicked it on, and someone was there to finish it.”

McCallie claimed the early momentum nine minutes into the match when Clint Parker finished a cross from Cartter Kerr. The Fighting Irish equalized 13 minutes later with John Rohling in front of the net to send in a free kick that the Blue Tornado couldn’t clear.

Father Ryan created several scoring chances in the second half, but Higgins made four saves to keep the match tied. He stopped a direct kick 11 minutes into the period, then got his hands up in time to deflect a high kick over the goal five minutes later.

“Higgins made some great saves,” Meyers said. “Those are just reaction, and he’s good at that. He kept us in the ballgame.”

The keeper was forced to make a one-handed save and another diving stop in the final five minutes as the Irish continued creating opportunities in an effort to avoid playing two extra periods.

“We did not want it to go to overtime,” Father Ryan coach Robin Dieterich said. “We felt like we could create an opportunity inside the 18. Both defenses pretty much shut each other down, but we were able to use some of those set pieces.”

McCallie’s season ended at 13-2-1.

“What I’m most proud of are our 10 seniors,” Meyers said. “They’re the heart and soul of our team, and they played their hearts out. I can’t complain about anything. The four best teams made it here, and we had six losses between us. It just didn’t happen for us today, but my guys did a great job.”

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