Cooling's OT winner helps No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons sneak past No. 1 Lake Norman
RALEIGH, N.C. - Cardinal Gibbons never trailed, but the Crusaders were on the ropes late in a marquee matchup with Lake Norman on Saturday afternoon.
After watching a game-tying goal find the back of the net with 1.7 left in regulation, an unexpected hero emerged in the opening 15 seconds of extra time.
Jackson Cooling scooped up a ground ball to start sudden death overtime and took it the distance for a thrilling 9-8 game-winner in a battle of HighSchoolOT’s top two ranked teams.
What could very well be a preview of this year’s 4A state championship game, Cardinal Gibbons struck first with a vengeance.
Brown Parker quickly broke the ice, and Justin Conly followed suit to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead just 2:24 into the contest.
Cannon Wigginton and Joey Jonske traded tallies to make it a 3-1 game after one.
Parker pushed Cardinal Gibbons’ lead to as much as three but Wyatt Miller sent the Wildcats into the half trailing by a pair at 4-2.
The third quarter was filled with excitement. Brandon DeBerardinis got the action going with a laser that stuck in the upper left corner of the net, making it a one-goal game.
The Crusaders had to constantly answer Lake Norman’s offensive attack to hold their lead.
Peter Dolan instantly answered DeBerardinis to make it 5-3, but Wigginton scored 26 seconds after the ensuing draw to claw back within one.
Parker slipped through the defense to make it 6-4, only to see DeBerardinis and Wigginton end the period with two straight to knot things up at 6-6 through three.
1:22 into the fourth, Zach Kerner found the back of the net. DeBerardinis mustered a response a minute later to even the battle at 7-7.
A Jonske spin move with 6:33 to go resulted in a go-ahead goal at 8-7. Cardinal Gibbons appeared to have that lead on ice until it threw a pass out of bounds with 12.0 left in regulation.
Lake Norman managed to cover the length of the field and find Statton Rehrer with 1.7 remaining for a game-tying tally.
The overtime period lasted only 15 seconds, thanks to Cooling’s walk-off winner.
Cardinal Gibbons is now 7-1 overall and has a conference matchup on Tuesday against Leesville Road.
Lake Norman is 6-3 and travels to Mooresville on Wednesday. Entering the day, the Crusaders and Wildcats had yet to lose to an in-state opponent.
BOX SCORE
CG: 3-1-2-2-1 9
LN: 1-1-4-2-0 8
SCORING:
CG: Parker 3, J. Jonske 2, Kerner 1, Conly 1, Dolan 1, Cooling 1
LN: DeBerardinis 3, Wigginton 3, Miller 1, Rehrer 1
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