2nd PK does trick for East

East High found out what it takes to score on the West High defense: two chances at a penalty kick.

Stayner Langeland drilled home his shot from the penalty spot — just moments after a teammate had his PK shot blocked — to give the Leopards a 1-0 home victory.

"I don't think we deserved to win," East coach Rudy Schenk said. "But I don't know if we deserved to lose either."

The rival Panthers would agree with them. They thought East (7-1) should have never had a second shot at that PK.

Going into the game, West (3-1-1) had five straight shutouts. That impressive run was threatened late in the first half when East sent a cross into the box. West goalie Drew Fuller tried to punch the ball out, but the ball was headed toward the middle of the box with Fuller out of position.

The resulting shot by Mitch Brouse went wide, but a penalty kick was given for pushing.

Fuller blocked the attempt by East's Juventino Luna, sending the ball upfield. But the kick was re-taken after the assistant referee ruled that Fuller stepped off the goal line before the kick.

"We felt that we didn't deserve to go down a goal on the penalty kick, especially after he got a second chance," West coach Kris Hamlet said.

That second chance went to Langeland, who stepped in for Luna.

"When you get one blocked, you can get a little bit nervous," Schenk explained.

The junior put the ball in the left side of the net for his seventh goal of the season.

The Panthers got some more bad news just a minute later as forward Luis Cena was red-carded for arguing with the referee.

"It gets very emotional when these teams play — especially when they are both good," Hamlet said.

Despite being a man down, East actually dictated play for most of the second half.

"They really came after us," Schenk said.

The key was sweeper Jeff Sanders, who replaced Cena, leaving just three defenders at the back. Sanders, who had only four minutes of forward experience going into Tuesday's game, created several chances.

"The plan was to mix things up," Sanders said.

The adjustment worked, but second-half goalie Coulson Wiscombe was up to the task.