For 80 minutes, the Permian and Odessa High boys soccer teams fought for the win.
Every motion seemed to matter to both teams — giving little room to score and limited opportunities on the offensive end.
That brought the game to penalty kicks after the scoreless draw.
In the shootout, Odessa High’s Jordan Peralta was able to get his hands on two straight Panther penalties to give his team the win it desperately coveted.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Peralta said. “At the end we came back and won it. If we can do this right here, I think we can win against Midland High Tuesday.”
The Bronchos topped the Panthers 3-2 in penalty kicks despite missing their first two attempts in District 2-6A action at Ratliff’s Turf Field.
“Of course you want the three points, but we found a way to win,” Odessa High head coach Eliseo Ortiz said. “After us missing two penalty kicks, that’s big.”
Up first in the penalty shootout was Permian senior Logan Smith in his last home game in a Panther uniform. Logan stepped up and drilled home his attempt over the hands of Heriberto Ceniceros — Odessa High’s starting defensive midfielder and occasional goalkeeper during penalties.
Then Ceniceros himself took a PK, which was swatted away by Permian starting goalkeeper Antonio Fernandez.
Permian senior Jesus Garcia was second — and that’s when Peralta took over — making a diving save to keep the Panthers lead at one.
Peralta wasn’t the only one with momentary magic, as Permian freshman goalkeeper Carson Roberts kept the Bronchos (9-7-3 overall, 4-2-2-1 District 2-6A, 18 points) off the board in the second round by making a kick save on a Chris Ramos penalty try.
Permian’s Carlos Terrazas was up third and he tried to put the ball in the same area Smith did two rounds before. This time Peralta got his hands to the ball — deflecting it onto the post and out of the net.
Taking the third penalty for the second straight game for Odessa High was Luis Salazar. The Bronchos midfielder had his PK saved on Tuesday against Midland Lee but made sure that didn’t happen again — powering his shot into the upper-left hand corner of the net.
Permian’s Irving Martinez went fourth and drilled his shot barely over the net — hitting the football upright just over the cross bar.
Odessa High senior Pedro Colomo made his penalty kick for the second straight game to put the Bronchos up on Permian (3-13-3, 1-1-2-5, seven points) for the first time in the shootout.
Permian center back RayJay Diaz was the last PK taker for the Panthers and he made Peralta guess the wrong way to slide his shot into the net.
Then as the game’s final penalty take, Odessa High’s Ricardo Medrano put the ball into the side of the net for the victory.
The win guarantees that Odessa High will have a shot going into its regular season finale against Midland High to still be district champions. Permian needs a Amarillo Tascosa loss to Midland High today to still have a chance at the playoffs going into its regular season final on the road Tueday against Midland Lee.
“We’re not out of it yet by any means,” Permian head coach Luis Carmona said. “Unfortunately, we’re not in the driver’s seat anymore.”
