Sharks Beat Lions in Thrilling Double Overtime Victory

The eagerly awaited rematch between the two top teams in the Tri-Valley League and possibly the two best teams in Division VI lived up to the hype as the Sharks won the most exciting and important game of the season on a goal by Jordan Clarke.  

Things didn't look good early as the Lions scored the first two goals of the game, both with a man advantage. The Sharks looked tight at first, but Jens Cole got them going with a six meter shot that found the back of the net. Then with time winding down in the first quarter Jordan Clarke also scored from six meters out and the score was tied.

It looked like the wheels might fall completely off in the second quarter when the Lions scored four straight goals. The Sharks hung in there and Emmet Pierson scored after a minor foul from 5 meters out. After goalie Dane Sartorius made a great save, it was Clarke scoring again with a man advantage and the Sharks were down 6 to 4 at halftime. 

The third quarter started with the Lions scoring after the Sharks defense got out of sync and the Oaks Christian fans were loudly anticipating a win. The Sharks sputtered for several minutes and failed to score on a 6 on 5 advantage and then Pierson drew a 5 meter penalty shot but also failed to score. Then the Sharks took advantage of a couple of positive kick outs by Pierson and Morgan Hathorn scored with a man advantage and then Owen Franz did the same.  Sartorious made another great save and the third quarter ended with the score 7 to 6 in favor of the Lions and the Sharks fans were making a lot of noise.

The fourth quarter started with the Lions scoring first again and the Sharks looked to be in trouble. They survived being down a man and then Franz made an improbable 8 meter shot and the Sharks were within a goal. Then with time starting to be a problem Henry Buckley fired the ball into the goal and the game headed into overtime.

The large crowd on hand was yelling when the overtime period started and for the fifth straight quarter the Lions scored first. The Sharks were down to their last couple of possessions when once again Clarke scored from outside and the score was tied 9 to 9. The Lions almost scored as the last few seconds ticked off the clock, but a strong shot just barred out of the goal.

The game headed into sudden death double overtime and after the Sharks earned another man advantage there seemed to be no doubt Clarke would take the shot. After a couple of passes Clarke pumped faked several times and then blasted the ball past two defenders and the goalie and the celebration was on.

After a tough loss to Oaks Christian two weeks ago and an overtime loss in the championship game of the Oxnard Tournament, this was a big victory for the Sharks. 

With the win they will most likely will be Tri-Valley League co-champions and it seems likely they will move ahead of Oaks Christian in the division rankings when the next coaches poll comes out early next week. 

The win also give the Sharks some much needed confidence as they head into the CIF playoffs starting Nov. 7. They have four games left before then, but none against a quality opponent like the Lions. Their record is now 18 wins and 4 losses.

The JV team had an easier time against the JV Lions and the Sharks won that game 8 to 4.