Hickman soccer outlasts Troy Buchanan in penalty kicks

COLUMBIA — It took two overtimes and two rounds of penalty kicks, but the Hickman soccer team finally got its victory.

Kewpies goalkeeper Spencer Mills stonewalled Troy Buchanan forward Alex Williams in the second round of penalty kicks and Hickman scored a 1-0 victory over the Trojans on Tuesday night at Hickman.

“I stuck with it on that last one,” Mills said. “I just got the feeling he was going straight down the middle.”

Moments earlier defender Adam Brenner gave the Kewpies the lead after the first round of penalty kicks ended tied at 4.

When Mills cradled Williams’ shot in his chest, Hickman had survived for the win.

“I was thinking, ‘Thank goodness I stopped that ball and we got the win,’ ” Mills said. “We definitely needed to come up on top.”

Hickman coach Adam Taylor praised both his goalkeepers after the victory.

“We’ve got two keepers that are playing quite a bit,” Taylor said. “Spencer and Chuck (Wilson) are both giving us opportunities to win ballgames. It was Spencer’s turn tonight, and he did everything we asked him to do.”

The two teams battled for 100 minutes before going to penalty kicks. The Kewpies and Trojans both scored on their first penalty-kick shots, but Hickman’s second shot went just above the top crossbar.

A few shots later, the teams were tied at 4 when midfielder Alex Martin had the opportunity to give the Trojans the win. Mills stopped his shot, which pushed the game into the deciding second round of penalty kicks.

Up to that point, Hickman was fighting to get on the scoreboard with no results to show for it. Zeros may have occupied the scoreboard, but the Kewpies had their chances to take the lead.

With two minutes left in the second overtime, forward Alex Holliday’s goal was disallowed by an offsides call. With eight minutes left in regulation, midfielder Connor Hollrah’s shot hit off the top crossbar.

“We battled all night,” Taylor said.

The Kewpies (11-4-1) play next Thursday at Rockhurst in Kansas City.