Carden Hall edges Kaiser

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COSTA MESA — Some team had to lose, but Carden Hall wanted to be sure it wasn’t going home Saturday. Goalie Harrison Vandervort appeared plenty determined.

There are no ties at the Daily Pilot. That meant after a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, Carden Hall and Kaiser had a shootout to determine a winner in a boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade gold division quarterfinal. Five shots for each team, but that resulted in another tie, 2-2.

A sudden-death shootout came next. Collin Welsh came up for the first penalty kick and booted the ball into the back of the net to give Carden Hall the advantage.

Because Vandervort had already made three stops during the shootout, a Kaiser player tried to kick the ball over him, but instead the ball drifted above the net to end the spirited game.

The Carden Hall boys hesitated before celebrating. They weren’t sure if they had won because some thought it was supposed to be another five-attempt shootout. But once they realized they won in sudden death, they cheered and bounced with the goalie Vandervort.

“They were thrilled,” Carden Hall Coach Don Cornell said. “It was exciting. I was real nervous when we missed the first three shots [in the shootout]. The boys came through in the end.”

Jake Parks scored the first goal in the shootout to put Kaiser up. But with two kicks left, Chris Hernandez made good on his attempt for Carden Hall. Dylan Kaplan gave Carden Hall a 2-1 lead on the team’s fifth attempt. And, Kaiser’s Christian Urquiza sent it into sudden death after he hit his penalty kick.

“It was a fantastic game,” Kaiser Coach Brett Clement said. “It was such a fun game to watch.”

Chase Davis scored a goal during regulation to put Carden Hall up, 1-0. But later in the second half, Kaiser tied it up after a Jamie Okvist goal.

Carden Hall advanced to today’s semifinals. It will play against Mariners at 10:30 a.m. Mariners also won in a shootout. The championship is at 3 p.m. both games are at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex, on field No. 1.