Solon -- In high school soccer, one moment of indecision in a golden-goal overtime period can be the difference between victory and elimination.
The Hudson boys soccer team had to deal with that cruel fact Oct. 24.
The Explorers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit, only to have Solon score the winning goal in overtime in a 2-1 victory in a Division I district semifinal game at Solon's Stewart Field.
The Comets advanced to play Aurora in a district final Oct. 27, while Hudson finished the season at 9-8-1.
Explorers head coach Greg Shoults said Solon got the winning goal the only way he throught it could.
"We told our guys just really pay attention on free kicks because it was likely the only way they were going to score on us," Shoults said.
"We let a ball get played across the goal and didn't defend well on the back post.
"When you play for 80 minutes and then have to play more, sometimes you get mentally tired.
"I'm proud of the way our guys fought back though. In a lot of ways, it was like the first game we played [with Solon] where we played much better in the second half."
Hudson was looking to avenge a 1-0 loss which it suffered against the Comets Oct. 4 -- but found itself trailing five minutes into the game.
In the fifth minute, Solon sent a ball towards the box. The centering ball richocheted off a Hudson defender and past Explorers' keeper Duncan Moran.
Moran did not retreat quickly enough to keep the ball out of the net and the Comets had a 1-0 lead on an own goal.
Shoults said there was nothing that could be done about the own goal, but that early lead allowed Solon to set its defensive tactics against Hudson.
"That made it more of a mountain to climb," Shoults said. "They basically plaed nine men behind the ball the entire game."
The tactic worked in the first half as Solon had a 4-2 edge in shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.
In the second half, however, the Explorers offense was contstant.
Pushing forward with everything it had, Hudson outshot the Comets 5-0 in the second half.
The Explorers nearly tied the game in the 63rd minute when junior Bryan Burrows ran onto a ball in the penalty box. Burrows blasted a high shot past Solon goalkeeper Tommy Koenig, only to have it bounce back off the inside of the post.
"A couple inches left and that ball goes in," Shoults said.
in the 69th minute, however, Burrows found the equalizer.
Off a centering ball into the box, Solon attempted to clear its lines. However, Burrows intercepted the clearing attempt and smashed a laser beam into the lower left corner, tying the game at 1-1.
Hudson pushed hard to find the second goal and although it didn't find it, the Explorers seemed to have all the momentum heading into overtime.
In the 86th minute, however, Solon got its chance to win it.
Given a free kick along the near side about 30 yards out from the goal, Solon defender Foster King sent a ball toward the far post. Midfielder Ethan Dunn got his head to the ball and sent it across the face of the goal when Alec Krienen sent the ball into the net.
It was Solon's only shot on goal since the first half.
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