TIFFIN — After outscoring its first two tournament opponents by a combined score of 34-0, Mansfield Christian was due for a test.
The top-seeded Flames got more than they bargained for during Thursday’s Division III district championship game at Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime and 2-1 midway through the second half, MCS scored three goals in the final 22:05 for a 4-2 win over upstart Riverdale.
The Flames (15-2-2) will play either Elyria Catholic or Oberlin in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ashland’s Community Stadium. Elyria Catholic and Oberlin meet at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Rocky River district title game.
Despite being outshot by a whopping 13-2 margin in the first half, Riverdale (12-5-2) took a 1-0 lead to intermission thanks to a Chad Pever header off a Nathaniel Hughes free kick in the 13th minute. Falcons goal keeper Austin Clark made the goal stand up through the opening 40 minutes, performing admirably while under constant attack.
“It’s very frustrating when you have probably 10 or 12 shots on goal and (Clark) is saving everything coming his way,” Mansfield Christian’s Brendan Ernsberger said. “You can’t get down on yourself. You have to keep the mentality that, ‘I’m going to score.’
“We have guys that can do that. We’re 10 guys deep and I feel that if they are in front of goal, they’re going to put the ball away. We knew they were going to fall.”
A senior forward, Ernsberger pulled the Flames even on a penalty kick with 30:22 remaining in the second half after Brandon Mount was fouled by Riverdale in the box. Riverdale responded less than five minutes later when Justin Riegle scored off a header on a long throw-in by Josh Hunter to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead with 25:41 remaining.
The Flames turned up the heat after that.
Mount scored the equalizer with 22:05 remaining after collecting a pass from Sammy Paul in front of the goal. The junior turned and unloaded a laser-shot that Clark had no chance to stop.
“I mean what do you do when the kid takes a chest from 20 yards and turns and nails one into the side net?” said Riverdale coach Jon Hayfield, whose Falcons fell to MCS 2-0 in the regular season. “You just have to congratulate a kid like that.”
The Flames took their first lead of the night when Mount collected a rebound off a Jared McPeek shot on goal and powered it past Clark with 13:09 remaining. Ernsberger iced it with his second goal with 6:18 remaining.
“You always worry about … being down, but we prepare for that kind of stuff,” Ernsberger said. “Our play doesn’t change. It becomes more intense. We get worried, but its not panic.
“It’s not a panic, but we know we’ve got to play. We’ve got to step up and play our style and they’re going to fall.”
Hunker Down: Riverdale packed it in defensively after taking the lead, then reclaiming it in the second half. It’s a style the Flames are used to seeing.
“They had a couple of opportunities and they buried them,” first-year Mansfield Christian coach Stephen Armstrong said. “At the beginning of the game they were coming at us, which is what they had to do. As soon as they got those goals we knew (Riverdale would have) 11 guys behind the ball.”
Double Trouble: Ernsberger’s two goals gave him 33 on the season, a Mansfield Christian single-season record. Mount not has 31 goals.
“They’ve got great foot skills, they’ve got great soccer knowledge and they’ve got a knoack for goal,” Armstrong said. “You’re not going to get much better leaders.”
Playoff Style: A lot of athletes grow beards for the postseason. Ernsberger took it the other way, shaving his head last week.
“I had hair until Friday,” he said. “It’s tournament man, it gets you psyched.
“I’m switching up the norm.”
