Parkview and Wheeler both needed penalty kicks to win their playoff openers last week in the Class AAAAA boys soccer tournament.
Parkview’s Jonathon Jarrett made sure it didn’t come down to that Wednesday when the teams met in the second round at Wheeler. His goal less than two minutes into the second half gave Parkview the lead, and the Panthers’ defense tightened down the stretch for a 2-1 victory.
Tenth-ranked Parkview (11-9) advances to the quarterfinals Saturday at North Cobb or Tift County. The Panthers, seeded fourth out of Region 8-AAAAA, beat Milton 1-0 (4-3 on penalty kicks) in the first round. Ninth-ranked Wheeler, which beat Peachtree Ridge 2-1 (9-8 on PKs) last week, ended its season 11-5-4.
“We played really well in the second half, but I think we were lucky to come out of this,” Parkview coach Michael Tolmich said. “I’m just excited to be going on to the next round.”
Jarrett took a long pass down the right side and hit a low shot that Wheeler goalkeeper Phillipe Dias got a hand on, but couldn’t keep out of the net. Parkview had a couple of other scoring chances later in the half, but failed to convert. Wheeler’s best chance to tie the score came on a low shot by Kevin Osorio with 4:03 remaining that was handled by Parkview goalkeeper Jack Falle.
Wheeler was the aggressor from the outset. Will Pereira’s shot that sailed just over the goal less than a minute into the game set the tone for a first half in which the Wildcats controlled the action on offense. The Wildcats finally broke through for a 1-0 lead when Osorio scored on a header from the left side with 9:01 to play in the half.
Parkview answered with 2:18 remaining in the half when Raymond Muro blasted a shot from 25 yards out that found the top right corner of the net.
“Good teams are going to have to weather the storm at times and then come back and make things happen,” Tolmich said. “I think that’s what we did. We allowed the one goal, which was a little bit sloppy, but we allowed it. We came back and we tied it up, and then we just picked things up.”
About the Author
