Starr's Mill wins AAAA boys soccer title

Starr’s Mill, which picked up its ninth shutout, finished with three consecutive overtime wins to claim the title, the second in school history.

“As I told our boys, as long as we didn’t let up a goal we’d win,” said Starr’s Mill coach Mike Hanie. “It’s pretty much unheard of to go through the state tournament and only give up one goal.”

McIntosh’s Bailey Brooks and Josh Ball and Starr’s Mill’s Payne Spence each received yellow cards in the second half.

If the earlier loss wasn’t enough motivation, the Panthers got less-than-royal treatment at McIntosh Stadium. As the Starr’s Mill bus pulled onto the McIntosh campus, the Panthers were greeted with cut-outs of a green 4 and a blue 1, reminding them of the Chiefs’ 4-1 regular-season win. The Chiefs then walked onto the field behind bagpipers, and after the National Anthem, the teams were greeted with a fly-over from an RV squadron of three planes from nearby Falcon Field.

In addition to falling short of the championship for the second consecutive year, the Chiefs were denied a handful of key achievements. They hoped to tie their school record for wins and give coach Bunky Colvin his 200th victory.

Instead of those things, the Panthers walked away behind a stellar effort from keeper Matt Hubbard, who made a sliding save on a shot by McIntosh’s Ryan Navarre in the 63rd minute on one close call.

Chiefs appeared to have won with 37 seconds left in regulation when Westin Landon's 40-yard indirect free kick went into the goal. It was disallowed because an indirect kick must touch another player, and the officials ruled it did not. The ruling left Colvin shaking his head and claiming it touched two players.