Last Friday’s soccer game was a real nail-bitter. With the chance of elimination, both teams gave it their all.

The Tigers struggled in the first half of the game as the O’Fallon Panthers led 1-0.

“We were having problems keeping the ball in midfield,” senior Ethan Miracle said. “But once we got that down, we dominated the game.”

The Panthers’ keeper, Steven Merrill, was able to block almost all shots on goal in the first half. Merrill punched a free kicked from senior AJ Sullivan over the crossbar and knocked down a shot from Miracle.

Luckily, Sullivan scored the game-tying point in the 58^th minute of the game.

“I was just focusing on calming myself down and not letting the size of the situation get the better of me,” Sullivan said.

The Tigers were able to breathe easily after Sullivan’s goal.

“That calmed our nerves, and we knew we could win it,” senior Josh Reed told The Intelligencer.

The goal was all it took for the Tigers to kick into high gear and score two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Reed kicked the ball into the top of the goal giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead with nine minutes left in the game, and in the 74^th minute, junior Jakob Doyle made his second post season goal off an assist from senior Bryce Glisson, ending the game with a score of 3-1.

“It was a big relief winning the game,” senior Kenneth Bond said. “It made me super excited and pumped up for the next game.”

As impressive as the win might be, the Tigers still have a long way to go if they want to make it to state.

“We have to win the next one, and the one after that, and then the one after that and then its state semi-finals,” Miracle said. “But we believe we can make it to state.”