The Mineola vs. Bullard soccer match last Friday was a wild affair, with seismic shifts in momentum, technical brilliance and a lot of grit. It was decided in overtime, as the

visiting Bullard Panthers took the match 4-3 with a goal in the second half of overtime.

It is impossible to qualify this match with any standard soccer description.

In the second minute of play, a shot by Bullard deflected off a defender’s head and ricocheted off the crossbar. A whistle stopped play. It was determined that an ‘apparent’ handball had made contact with the shot. Bullard dispatched the penalty kick and took a 1-0 lead.

After the initial shock, the Yellowjackets struggled to clear through the Bullard midfield.

In the 14th minute, Gorge Zavala entered the pitch. Within a minute, he sprinted clear of the midfield and made a strong run up the right side. Recognizing that Zavala would have a clear run on goal, the Bullard defender took out his legs as he entered the box. A penalty kick was awarded.

Brayan Torres calmly smashed the penalty into the left corner, tying the score.

The remainder of the first half was a series of attacks and counterattacks. Each side generated excellent scoring opportunities.

In the 22nd minute, Mineola shaped a textbook attack: the sequence was Heriberto Lucas to Torres to Cristian Ledesma to Zavala, whose well-struck shot sailed just wide. In the 30th minute, Torres pushed a shot just left of the far post.

In goal, Yellowjacket keeper Johnny Rocha tipped a potential goal just over the top to deny Bullard as the half wound down.

Five Jackets were involved in the sequence that saw Kaleb Silverio bury a shot on a clean run to give Mineola a 2-1 lead in the 37th minute.

Mineola continued to attack, but a counter by Bullard leveled the score again in the last minute of the first half.

Bullard had the better measure of play in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Then, it all changed.

Two yellow cards were awarded Mineola for overaggressive play. A red card for a comment from the bench followed, and suddenly the home side was down one man.

The Jackets came under intense pressure as Bullard sought to take advantage.

Excellent defending kept the game scoreless through regulation.

Mineola is adept at scoring while undermanned, and they did challenge Bullard in the second half. Most notably, Eduardo Zavala sent a blistering shot in on goal, and Leonardo Villanueva issued a shot just over the bar.

The match went to two 10-minute overtime periods, with both sides at full strength.

Due to fatigue, the game morphed into a series of long kicks.

In the fifth minute of overtime, Bullard launched an attack up the right side. The shot came from about 20 meters and was mis-hit. It careened to the goal with a tremendous amount of spin. Rocha made the initial save, but the ball spun clear, and it fell to a

Bullard attacker. The Panthers led 3-2.

The Yellowjackets had no quit in them. They dominated play in the second half of overtime. Defender Sebastian Klodnicki came forward and placed a beautiful ball from the midfield over the top to a sprinting Ledesma. Ledesma rocketed the ball past the Bullard keeper to level the score, 3-3.

Most of the remaining eight minutes were played in Mineola’s offensive zone. The Jackets had three corners, two free kicks and numerous deep throw-ins in the remaining time.

It was a desperate long pass ahead in the final minute of play that determined the game. A massive collision between four players (including Mineola keeper Rocha)

resulted in the ball being jarred loose. Bullard guided it into the open net.

It was clear that the Mineola side had thought that the play had ceased with the ball in Rocha’s hands, but it did not. It was a tragic way for the match to end.

The best ticket in town is to come out and see the Yellowjacket soccer side. They are skilled, determined and play with passion. The next chance to see them in action is Friday, Feb. 20 as they host the Athens Hornets. Action commences at 6 p.m.