Miracle finish: Eagles pull off the impossible to upset top-ranked Wayzata

Under the bleachers at Aerie Stadium on Monday night, the garage door leading to the soccer dressing room was open prior to the Eagles boys’ soccer match with top-ranked and undefeated Wayzata. Eden Prairie co-head coach Jim Williams could be overheard sharing the strategy for the evening’s challenge.

“Just go right at ’em,” the coach told his players. 

That’s exactly what they did. It didn’t matter that the Eagles had lost to Wayzata earlier in the season in overtime. It didn’t matter that Wayzata quickly answered the Eagles’ go-ahead goal with 17 minutes to play. Nor did it matter that the Trojans had an opportunity to take the lead with the state’s best player making a penalty kick toward the end of regulation. None of that mattered on this night.

“We knew going in our kids are not afraid of them,” Williams said. “It’s a question of: ‘can we catch a break?’ We caught a break with two seconds left in the game.”

The elusive moment arrived off the foot of senior defender Zachary Fier. With the score tied as regulation time was about to expire, his kick from 30 yards out sailed past Wayzata’s goalkeeper and into the net. Celebration erupted on the field and in the stands, as the Eagles made the improbable possible with a 3-2 victory.

“I just took the throw-in,” Fier said, searching for an explanation of his goal just moments after the game. “I was just trying to serve it back close but it went in. It’s crazy.”

The twists and turns leading up to the miracle finish were enough to give anyone watching a good case of whiplash. Wayzata opened the scoring with 12 minutes gone in the first half. Eagles’ junior forward Ryan Donohue answered with a goal to tie the game with 12 minutes left before halftime. But that was just the beginning of the scoring.

“I was telling the kids it might be 10 years since (Wayzata) has given up three goals in a game,” Williams said. “They’re that good, but man did our kids play well. I’m proud of them.”

The Eagles played an aggressive game from the start, not shying away from making this match a physical battle with the Trojans.

“It’s a big boys game, especially with those kids,” senior midfielder Pranay Dhiman said. “Mike (Orlov)  and Joe (Highfield), they’re great players. But if you want to beat them, you’ve got to play toe-to-toe with them. And I think we did that today.”

The Eagles took the lead for the first time in the second half. Senior forward Sebastian Bocanegra-Lima had created numerous chances all evening. His goal nine minutes into the second half came after making his way past six Trojan defenders. The Eagles found themselves with a 2-1 lead.

“I got the ball and just decided to take them on, one by one,” Bocanegra-Lima said. “And I took the shot and it went in.”

Bocanegra-Lima is from Guatemala and in his second year at Eden Prairie. His speed and quickness in the offensive zone generated excitement throughout the contest.

“He’s just a dominant player,” Williams said. “That goal was beautiful. His speed and ability to just go at defenders and beat them, it’s so, so fun to watch.”

Wayzata’s Joe Highfield, considered one of the state’s top players, evened the score at two with 13 minutes to play in the second half. He had an opportunity to put his team back in the lead when the Eagles were called for a handball penalty in front of the Eden Prairie net. As Eagles senior goalkeeper Zach Diermeier readied himself for the penalty kick, he received a tip from a teammate.

“I’ll be honest, my teammate, Alex (Yu) pointed in that direction,” Diermeier said after the game. “So I knew he was going there.”

Diermeier’s game-saving stop gave the Eagles a palpable lift. The final minutes of the second half saw possession change hands numerous times with both teams racing for the go-ahead goal. As the minutes ticked down, overtime appeared imminent.

“I’m thinking I really don’t want to go to overtime again,” Williams said, referring to several finishes this season, including an OT loss to the Trojans in September. “We’ve done that, what, five or six times this year? But I’m just so proud of the kids.”

Overtime would not be necessary. With just two ticks remaining on the clock, Zier’s last-second kick found its place in the back of the Wayzata net. The flurry before the fateful boot left those watching – and playing – wondering what had just taken place.

“I think it just came out of a deflection. The other team was trying to clear it, but I’ll take it,” Fier said. Adding, “this means everything. It’s a great win.”

After the victory, the team gathered once more in the dressing room under the bleachers, this time with the door closed. From the sounds coming from behind fiberglass, there was no mistaking the jubilant celebration taking place inside. 

“The end of the game was crazy,” Williams said. “And the kids feel so good.” 

Later, players gathered in the east end zone for photos to preserve the moment, not wanting to leave the field just yet.

“When you win like that, you want to stay here forever. It’s just a great feeling,” Dhiman said. “And most importantly, we can’t lose momentum in the sections. That’s because those are the playoffs and that’s what counts the most.”

The Eagles await their pairings for the sectional playoffs, which begin next Tuesday. So there’s still a little time to savor the win.

“The Lake Conference is hard,” Williams said after the dressing room cleared out. “We’ve lost to three teams and they’re the three best teams in the state. Tonight we turned it around. So we build on this.”