Central soccer team strikes for OT win vs. Jackson

Matt Chism said the golden goal he scored early in overtime at Jackson Tuesday night was especially sweet for himself and the rest of the Central High School boys soccer team.

"To beat Jackson on their own field feels amazing," Chism said. "To beat Notre Dame and then Jackson. ... Since I've been here we've been getting stomped by them."

The Tigers, who have not had a winning season since 2008, continued their resurgence with Tuesday's thrilling 3-2 victory over one of their major rivals.

Central, by virtue of the win, also captured the championship of the Notre Dame SoccerFest.

The Tigers (5-3) and Indians (3-4-1) had their scheduled tournament final cancelled by bad weather earlier this month and the squads agreed to use their regular-season matchup as the title contest.

Central’s Matt Chism, left, kicks the ball past Jackson’s Blake Kingree during the second half Tuesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Central's semifinal victory in the SoccerFest came over host Notre Dame on penalty kicks.

"It's always nice to beat a rival," said Central junior goalkeeper Austin Bagley, who made several acrobatic saves. "It's great to win the tournament and to beat Jackson and Notre Dame.

"We've got a pretty good season so far, and we want to end it right."

Chism and fellow junior Chandler Bagley, Austin's twin brother, combined to end Tuesday's thriller.

Chism gained control of a ball near midfield in the opening seconds of the first 10-minute overtime period. He chipped it toward Chandler Bagley along the right sideline and then streaked toward the Jackson goal.

Central’s Tyler Anderson, right, kicks the ball as Jackson’s Nic Stone looks on during the first half Tuesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

"We practiced it for about 45 minutes yesterday," Chism said. "I yelled one-two, chipped it over the defender's head and went back to the middle."

Chandler Bagley beat Jackson's defender to the ball and served a cross that Chism deposited into the net just 30 seconds into extra time.

"Matt gave it to me first. I went toward the corner, settled the ball, passed it to him, and he put it away," Chandler Bagley said. "It was phenomenal."

Central students rushed the field to celebrate with the Tigers just moments after Chism scored.

"We executed that play great," Chism said.

Chism also scored earlier in the game, and Chandler Bagley assisted on all three goals.

"I just looked to find people's feet when I got in the box," Chandler Bagley said. "It was a phenomenal game."

Jackson coach Zack Walton found little fault with the Indians' performance other than they failed to finish most of their scoring opportunities.

"We had a lot of chances. We didn't finish the opportunities we had," Walton said. "The second half we had a lot more possession. We had some good looks. We just didn't finish. Cape was able to finish."

Central, which never trailed, held a pair of one-goal leads in regulation only to see Jackson rally each time.

"We battled it out and found a way to win. We stayed with it," Austin Bagley said.

The Tigers scored first a little more than 11 minutes into the first half.

A Central player was taken down on the edge of the 18-yard box. Chandler Bagley's free kick toward the left of the goal found Chism, who knocked it home.

Jackson answered midway through the half as sophomore Ryan Harvey headed in a cross from freshman Aaron Voshage.

Central regained a 2-1 lead with under two minutes remaining before the intermission. Senior Nick Barnes put in a rebound after the original shot by Chandler Bagley was saved but not controlled.

Jackson turned up the pressure in the second half and had numerous chances.

The Indians finally broke through with a little more than 18 minutes left when sophomore Preston Arnold scored off a cross from junior Michael Depuy.

That's the way things stood until Chism got the game-winner.

"I give credit to both teams. It was a fantastic game," Central coach Dan Martin said. "We scored a great goal [in overtime]. It was a great way to finish."