The Villages SC 1–1 Little Rock Rangers (a.e.t.) · Villages win 5–3 on penalties
We are Southern Conference Champions, for the second time in this club's history, after a hundred and twenty minutes at TowneBank Stadium in Newport News and a shootout in which we did not miss once.
It nearly did not start. The league held kickoff for a heat delay — 91 degrees in Newport News — and pushed the 5pm start back to 7:15pm once the field was deemed safe.
The road here. Three playoff matches, three wins, every one of them by a single goal. SC United Bantams 2–1, both goals from Lucas Mauro. Then Asheville SC 1–0. Now this.
Little Rock were the toughest of them. They came in 10–2–2, second in the Mid-South, having scored 42 goals — three and a half a game — and conceded seven all season. Five days earlier they had set a USL League Two attendance record of 7,723.
The first half was ours and had nothing to show for it. Corners on 6, 9, 29, 36, 40 and 45. A dangerous free kick on 11. Mathias Tieppo saved early on 15 and again on 33 straight after a hydration break. We held at least 75% possession and went in goalless.
76' — Matheus Ferreira finally scored, against a defence that had conceded seven goals all season.
Tieppo made a big save on 88. Alvaro Carrera came off for Chris Dilan on 83; Adrian Chan and Yago Lopes came on at 89; Joao Ribeiro at 91.
Then, in the 97th minute — the last kick of regulation — Crabtree found Blake, who took it in his stride and fired past Tieppo. The referee blew for full time immediately afterwards.
1–1.
Thirty minutes of extra time settled nothing. We finished it with five players carrying yellow cards — Lukaszic, Mendes, Roberto, Lopez and Santos.
Penalties.
Lucas Mauro went first and slotted it home. Little Rock missed their first.
Nico doubled it. Austin Lukasik scored. Pedro Santos scored.
Little Rock made their next three.
And then Leonardo Andrade stepped up and won it.
Four taken, four scored, no misses.
Southern Conference Champions.
Our second conference title, and a very different one from 2018. That year we arrived as the wildcard and beat two division winners. This time we won our division first, then won three knockout matches by a single goal each, and settled the last of them from the spot.
