Dawson County High School varsity boys soccer coach Jed Lacey's team played two nail biters last week.
The Tigers defeated Lakeview Academy, 3-2, on a goal with only four seconds remaining in the match and lost to East Hall, 1-0, after two overtimes and 11 rounds of penalty kicks.
The fourth-ranked, Class AAA, Tigers are currently 10-2 overall and 2-1 in Region 7-AAA play.
"Well, you cannot have two more exciting games then what we went through this week," Lacey said.
The April 10 game against Lakeview Academy also served as Senior Night for the Tigers. Lacey and his staff honored four seniors before the game. This year's seniors are: Gunnar Armstrong, Jose Miranda, Josh Lund and Chris Bywaletz.
Both teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first 40 minutes of play.
Lakeview went up 1-0 on a goal from Nathan Zottnick from assist by Tyler Kimball breaking the tie at the 30:36 mark of the second half.
The Tigers fought back with a goal by Sal Mendoza with 26:08 left on an assist from Miranda to tie the score at 1-1.
"This past week Sal Mendoza has really come into his own and is doing everything he can to help this team win. Sal never stops hustling and is always trying to set his teammates up to score. He is someone that this team can count on to fight until the very end. Sal has turned into the spark plug that makes this team go. I need other players to catch his fire," Lacey said.
Brandon Lund scored Dawson's second goal with 17:28 remaining to put the Tigers in the lead 2-1.
The Lions (6-4, 2-1 in Region 8-A) equaled the score at 2-2 with only four minutes left in regulation on an unassisted goal by Rick Valentine.
With only three seconds remaining and a possibility of overtime, Miranda found the back of the net on a shot from 40-yards out on a free kick. The Tiger bench erupted with the game winning blast.
Friday's game saw the Tigers match up with Region 7-AAA foe East Hall at Tiger Stadium.
It was a very physical match. Both teams battled to a scoreless tie after 80 minutes of play, sending the game into overtime.
Dawson County had several chanced to defeat the Vikings but just couldn't finish.
After two overtimes periods the game remained tied at 0-0, sending the game to penalty kicks.
East Hall, ranked No. 8 in Class AAA, took the win after 11 rounds, 8-7, on penalty kicks. The Vikings are now 7-3-1 overall and 3-2 in Region 7-AAA play.
Tiger goalie Brooks Fulford broke the school record, his own, with his ninth shutout of the season. Fulford was awarded the blank effort because there was no score in regulation nor overtime.
"It doesn't get much better than to have Brooks in goal. Brooks is the best goalkeeper I have ever had or seen in all my years of coaching," Lacey said.
The Tigers are ranked No. 4 in Class AAA.
"These games were fun for the fans to watch, but very frustrating for the coaching staff," Lacey said. "The last three games, after playing our best game against West Hall, have been our worst of the season."