Sandite Soccer falls 3-2 to Bartlesville in thriller shootout

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer team (0-1) may not have won their season opener against Bartlesville (1-0), but they gave the Bruins a run for their money.

Sand Springs is coming off a 3-12 season, compared to the Bruins' 10-5 performance last year, but the Sandites played with purpose to force overtime before falling in PKs.

The visiting team wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard with a goal from sophomore Brice Terronez less than two minutes into the game. With fourteen minutes left in the first half, Reese Hammon fired a pass to Quinton Palmer who hit paydirt for the 2-0 lead.

The second half belonged to the Sandites, who got on the scoreboard four minutes in with a goal from Alex Hernandez. Logan Jeffus added another point seven minutes later, and senior keeper Edgar Soberano pulled off a pair of impressive saves in the final minute to send the match to overtime PKs.

Freshman Luke Jeffus struck first in the shootout, giving the Sandites their first lead of the game. The Bruins missed their first shot, but the Sandites missed their second and Gabriel Ontiveros tied it up. Both teams made their third shots: Ignacio Garcia for the Sandites and Spencer White for the Bruins. Both teams also made their fourth shots: Gracen Taylor for Sand Springs, and Austin Stitt for Bartlesville. In the fifth round the Sandite missed his mark and Terronez recorded a brace for the Bruin victory.

In OSSAA play, the winner of the shootout adds one point to the regulation score, bringing the final total to 3-2.

The Sandites will return to action Friday with another non-district home game at 8:00 p.m., this time against Bixby (0-1). The Lady Sandite (0-1) match will precede the boys' at 6:00 p.m. Last year the Spartans topped the Sandites 2-0.