Must-see video: Eisenhower gives up equalizer with 15 seconds left, then wins it with 1.9 seconds left

Rarely are goals scored in the final minute of a soccer game.

Two goals in the final 15 seconds? Unheard of.

But that’s exactly what happened Thursday night in a semifinal game at the Goddard Invitational, as North scored an equalizer with 15 seconds left to seemingly force a shootout only to watch Eisenhower’s Sydney Blackwell score from long range with 1.9 seconds left as Eisenhower prevailed 3-2.

“It was just simply unbelievable,” Eisenhower coach Brandon Sommer said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

After North netted the game-tying goal, Eisenhower’s Tera Lynch took the touch from midfield, beat one defender, dribbled about 30 yards, then slid a pass down the right side to Blackwell, who planted and one-timed it from 25 yards out and sent the ball sailing that dropped just below the crossbar and over the keeper’s out-stretched hands with 1.9 seconds left.

On accident.

“It was supposed to be a cross,” Blackwell said laughing. “I was actually aiming for anything on the back post, but it worked out. Everybody went crazy and I was just so happy. I could hear the crowd going crazy and it was just a pretty awesome moment.”

Blackwell collapsed in astonishment, while North’s players looked on stunned.

North coach Curt Wullschlegler had just settled down from celebrating Nayeli Gallo’s goal that he thought would send his team into a penalty-kick shootout with a spot in the title game against Goddard on Saturday on the line.

“It’s so draining,” Wullschlegler said. “The girls worked so hard the entire game and to finally get the equalizer with 15 seconds left, we were all thinking we were going to a shootout, where I like our chances. Then we just had the rug pulled out underneath us. It’s very emotionally-taxing.”

Wullschlegler was already wrestling with the what-if’s in his mind sometime after the game.

“I thought we did the right thing by dropping our two centerbacks deep and forcing them out wide,” Wullschlegler said. “But in retrospect, if I could have done anything differently, I would have fouled on the kick-off. Just a simple tug of the shirt, nothing dirty or malicious. But we should have fouled and just let the clock run out.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Must-see video: Eisenhower gives up equalizer with 15 seconds left, then wins it with 1.9 seconds left."