Dramatic OT victory puts Spartans in state semifinals

GASTONIA — The Asheville Christian defense wasn’t ready, but the officials were and so was Charlie Bridger.

With a scoreless tie having reached the second sudden-victory overtime period, the Gaston Day senior didn’t hesitate on a free kick from 35 yards away. Bridger’s savvy move found the net and gave the Spartans a dramatic 1-0 state quarterfinal victory Tuesday at the William J. Pharr Athletic Field.

“The keeper was trying to set up his defense,” Bridger said. “The defense was trying to set up their defense. A lot of confusion.”

There was no confusion on Bridger’s part, and the result was a rare feat for his school.

The win put Gaston Day (20-3-1) in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 2A state semifinals for the first time since the school moved up in classification three years ago. The sixth-seeded Spartans will face No. 2 seed Carolina Friends or No. 7 seed Caldwell Academy Friday in Fayetteville. The winner will play for the championship Saturday in Fayetteville.

Tuesday’s match would have entered a penalty kick shootout had neither team scored in the next four minutes and 15 seconds. But Bridger ended it with his team-leading 32nd goal of the season.

“Perfect shot,” Asheville Christian coach Terry Hughes said. “He couldn’t have hit it any better.”

Grant Boloyan’s 10 saves kept Gaston Day alive as Asheville Christian (13-7-2) won the shots category 15-12. The Lions came in with a chip on their shoulder, feeling they had been slighted with a No. 14 seed. They proved their point in the first round by upsetting third-seeded Cape Fear 2-1.

But Gaston Day was better in the end even though the victory took a little extra time.

“This was a marquee win for us,” Gaston Day coach Greg Lekavich said. “This is the second overtime win we’ve had in the last two weeks, and they just keep getting sweeter.”

The Spartans had survived Davidson Day in overtime last week on this same field for the SPAA championship.

Seven seniors played their final game on their home field, where they lost only one match all season. Lekavich considers it “unbelievable” that the team didn’t miss a beat after graduating 12 seniors last year.

“This is purely the result of all the hard work that these boys started putting in last May,” Lekavich said. “They started playing pickup games on their own at Martha Rivers Park and you’re looking at a final product.”

Phillip Gardner: 704-869-1843; twitter.com/gazettephil