St. John’s wins in extra time after very late 2nd-half goal

Naayers sends Titans to regional play with tally

St. John's goalkeeper Stephen Wainz cradles a Perrysburg shot during the District I final.

THE BLADE/JEFFREY SMITH
Buy This Image

St. John's goalkeeper Stephen Wainz cradles a Perrysburg shot during the District I final.

The ball was at Colin Doyle’s feet and the junior midfielder couldn’t believe it.

Moments later the ball was in the back of the net and St. John’s season was still alive.

"It was a rebound and I just got it," Doyle said. "I was so surprised I just tapped it in. We were pushing up and we knew we needed a goal to keep our season alive. I just tried to get something on it."

The goal by Doyle came with 11 seconds left in the Division I District final game Saturday at Southview High School and tied the score at two.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to see more photos from the game

With momentum clearly on the side of St. John’s, Adam Naayers produced the game-winner with 8:37 left in the first half of extra time to beat Perrysburg 3-2.

Perrysburg appeared to have the game in hand after Logan Giesige scored a goal with less than nine minutes left. Giesige beat St. John’s keeper Stephen Wainz with a shot to the lower left of the goal.

A late flurry by the Titans produced the game-tying goal by Doyle. Zach Buescher ripped two shots on goal in the final 30 seconds. One resulted in a great save by Perrysburg goalie Kyle Rowan and the other deflected off the crossbar and was eventually gathered by Doyle.

In the extra time, Naayers broke free on the left side of the field and fired a shot on goal. Rowan made the initial save, but the rebound bounced back to Naayers who buried it in the back of the net.

"I had a chance a couple times earlier and I put it over," Naayers said. "I just tried to put it on the ground and the goalie blocked it. Luckily it came right back to me and I had an easy finish."

The two teams tied 2-2 in a game back on September 26 and battled back and forth again in this one.

Perrysburg senior Aaron Davis opened the scoring with 32:26 left in the first half on a shot to the lower right corner from the top of the box.

St. John’s answered when Zach Buescher finished a cross from Naayers with 6:19 left in the first half.

The second-half action was dictated by the Titans, but Perrysburg capitalized on a rare opportunity on Giesige’s goal, which came after a Yellow Jackets corner kick.

"It was a well fought game," Perrysburg coach Mike Timbrook said. "You got the roller coaster of emotions and it came down to sudden death and someone had to get one."

St. John’s is on quite a roll lately and will continue on to regional play Anthony Wayne on Wednesday at Central Catholic.

"We haven’t lost since September 14 and this is how this team has been," Titans coach Tom Shook said. "They never quit. We’ve got so many weapons that can score."

Contact Brian Buckey at: bbuckey@theblade.com, or 419-724-6110.