Bucs soccer wins state in PK shootout
HUNTSVILLE -- Silence hung over John Hunt Park as Finn Dowdey lined up for his penalty kick early Saturday afternoon.
The Hoover High School senior had one shot to win the Class 7A state title. He didn't flinch.
Dowdey slotted the ball across the rain-soaked grass and into the net's bottom right corner to lift the Buccaneers boys soccer team to a 3-2 victory over Enterprise.
He then ran toward his team's bench with his fists above his head. A roar replaced the silence as Hoover began to celebrate its first state title since 2003.
"Three years of memories and emotions just kind of came out," Dowdey said. "It means everything."
Dowdey missed most of the season as he rehabbed from a torn ACL. Since he made his return in early April, he's worn a large brace to protect his surgically repaired left knee.
That knee held up as Dowdey and his teammates sprinted from midfield to the end line after his game-winning penalty kick. The Bucs collectively swarmed goalkeeper Max Rudolph, who secured a crucial save before Dowdey's heroics.
The Bucs won the penalty kick shootout 5-3 behind clutch shots from Sam Bauder, Richard Ujueta, Nicholas Ibanez, Igor Rudolph and Dowdey.
Hoover head coach Kris Keplinger said he felt confident that his Bucs were going to deliver.
"We've got really good soccer players," said Keplinger, his gray T-shirt stained from a postgame Gatorade shower. "These kids have been playing soccer all their lives."
The game went to overtime after Enterprise's Andre Mazariegos tied the game 2-2 with only 25 seconds left in regulation. That the Bucs persevered even after the deflating lapse also didn't surprise their coach.
"It's a character thing," Keplinger said. "That's what this is all about."
The Bucs fell behind 1-0 in the first half but equalized before the break. Ujueta, a junior, put his foot on a pinpoint free kick that Bauder lobbed in front of the goal from just beyond the corner of the 18-yard box. Ujueta notched Hoover's second goal as well, firing a second-chance shot over the keeper's head with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the second half.
He was named tournament MVP.
"I've always said big-time players make big-time plays," Ujueta said. "I saw my team needed some big-time plays, so I just tried my hardest to get us back into the game and win it."
Hoover advanced to the final by beating Florence 2-1 in Friday's semifinal. Lawson Shaw scored a long goal in double overtime, converting a shot from about 30 yards away. Hoover also fell behind in that game but equalized in the second half on a Seth Davis goal.
The Bucs finished the season 19-4-3.
"These guys worked really hard, and it worked out," Keplinger said. "And I'm really happy for them."