Reinhard's 3 OT goals help WHS advance to district soccer final

Stephanie Sturgis - Press Sports Editor


Reinhard's 3 OT goals help WHS advance to district soccer final | Westview Charger soccer, Adam Reinhard, Will Sliger, Reid Cates, Martin, Tennessee

Goal — Westview freshman forward Adam Reinhard (right) gets past two defenders and fires a shot for one of his five goals during the Chargers' 7-4 overtime win over Milan in the District 14 A-AA Tournament semifinals Tuesday night.
On the brink of elimination, the Westview Chargers soccer team erupted for four overtime goals, including three in the extra time from freshman Adam Reinhard, to eliminate the Milan Bulldogs, 7-4, in the District 14 A-AA Tournament semifinals Tuesday night in Dyersburg.
"When we got down, we began to play with a sense of urgency," WHS head coach Dan Scates said. "We had to get real creative to pull this one out."
The Chargers played a man down for the final 22 minutes of regulation after Jake Hart was tagged with a red card. Hart will now have to sit out the district championship game on Thursday night and the regional semifinal on Tuesday. The Chargers will be playing in the regional tournament for the 14th consecutive season.
"We made the adjustments. We sent Chase (Manley) to Jake's spot and when we got up by two goals we sent an extra man on the right side to help Noah (Towe), who's been slowed by injury. We sent Reid (Cates) over there," the WHS head coach stated.
Westview will take on Dyersburg at 6 on Thursday night in the district final. Dyersburg won 5-0 in its semifinal match.
The Chargers got the lead at the 25-minute mark when Will Sliger scored on an assist from senior Chase Manley.
Milan's Zack Ryan, who scored all three Bulldog goals, tied the score at 1-all with six minutes left in the first half.
Reinhard notched his first goal with a strong strike after making a steal at the 60-minute mark.
Ryan tied it again at 2-2 nine minutes later, punching the ball past WHS keeper Hyeontae Kim after a deep throw-in.  
With 10 minutes left in regulation, the Chargers regained the lead at 3-2 when Reinhard fired just inside the post after a center from Abraham Haddad.
Ryan forced the overtime by scoring with 8:40 left when Kim came out of the net and Ryan slipped by him for the goal.
Just 15 seconds into the first of the two 10-minute OT periods, Milan immediately grabbed the lead at 4-3 on Ryan's third goal on a follow shot.
Reinhard and Cates, who both seemed a step faster than the MHS defenders late in the action on the wet field, then took control. Another Reinhard steal led to his second goal and a 4-4 tie.
Seconds later, Cates eluded the Milan keeper and fired a sharp shot in for a 5-4 lead, an advantage the Chargers never relinquished.
With mere seconds left in the first overtime period, Cates fed Reinhard for a hard shot inside the post and a 6-4 advantage.
The freshman raced in for his fifth and the game's final goal late in the second OT for a 7-4 Westview win.
"It was obvious that conditioning was a factor. Those last three goals were pure hustle," the Westview mentor noted.
"That young man (Reinhard) has really stepped up. He came in to practice and earned his position at forward. He has a chance to be something special here at Westview. Both he and Abraham (Haddad) have played well together for us," Scates said.