Centennial's Peter Vorel was so caught up in the moment that he says he didn't even realize the game was literally resting on his foot.
All he knew, as he stepped up to take the Eagles' fifth penalty kick in the 3A East regional quarterfinals against Wilde Lake, was that missing wasn't an option.
"I had no idea walking out (to take the kick) that it was for the game-winner. … I thought I had to make mine and they would still have to miss again for us to win," said Vorel, who realized pretty quickly the significance of his kick as his teammates rushed toward him.
All five Centennial players that stepped to the line Tuesday made their penalty kicks, giving the Eagles a 5-3 victory in the shootout after the two teams had played to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes. Vorel's finish into the corner of the net was simply the one that sealed the deal.
"Watching them all make theirs, I had to step up and do my job too," Vorel said. "I couldn't let them down."
Joining Centennial in the regional quarterfinal winner's circle was Mt. Hebron in 3A East, along with Marriotts Ridge in 2A North. River Hill, Reservoir, Hammond, Glenelg and Oakland Mills were among those, along with Wilde Lake, whose seasons ended Nov. 1.
With the win, Centennial is 8-0-2 in its past 10 games, the longest unbeaten streak by any county team this fall. Eagles' coach Jim Zehe said the momentum from that run during the second half of the season paid dividends in the do-or-die moments at the end of the game against the Wildecats.
"I'm not going to say the guys weren't nervous going into overtime or into penalty kicks; in a 0-0 game any one play can be the difference, but there's certainly a level of confidence that we've built up," Zehe said. "They believe we're going to find a way."
During the 100 minutes of game action, both teams had a handful of chances, but none was too threatening. Combined, the two teams had just seven shots on goal.
But once it came down to penalty kicks, Centennial found its rhythm.
Max Yarosh made the first one and then Ian Dwyer, Danny Mooney, Ethan Adams and Vorel followed suit.
Wilde Lake, meanwhile, got conversions from Zach Johnson, Brian Dubois and Zack Smythe. The only blemish was a shot by Matt Flyr that glanced off the right post. That, however, was all it took for Centennial to emerge victorious.
The game between Mt. Hebron and Reservoir also came down to a penalty kick, although it happened during regulation and it was the goalie that emerged as the hero.
With Mt. Hebron ahead 3-2 with 19 minutes left in the second half, Reservoir's Colin Bonner stepped up to take a penalty kick after a foul in the box. His shot toward the right corner, though, was stopped by Mt. Hebron goalie Drew Staedeli.
That diving save turned out to be the one that clinched a one-goal Mt. Hebron victory.
"Drew's our best player, and he made a huge play," Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said. "You always say guys have to step up and make plays in big situations, and Drew made a play right there."
Staedeli is no stranger to penalty kicks. Nearly two years ago to the day, he stopped two penalty kicks to beat River Hill in the regional quarterfinals.
This time, against the county and district champion Gators, he again came up big.
"Ever since that River Hill moment, penalty kicks have kind of been my thing," Staedeli said. "I usually try to read their body to get an idea of where they are going, but that one there was definitely just in the spur of the moment and I was able to get my hands on it."
Mt. Hebron had seized control of the game early, getting a goal from Chris Park eight minutes in and then another score from Josh Palin with 3:27 left before halftime to make it 2-0.
Linsenmeyer called Palin's goal, off a beautiful cross from Andrew Tucker on a play that started on the other side of the field, one of the best he's seen.
"Honestly, I've been doing this 11 years and that's up there with the best goals I've ever seen from the Hebron jerseys," Linsenmeyer said. "Back to front, it was an awesome goal."
Reservoir got to within one goal 14 minutes into the second half when Bonner headed home a free kick by Peter Park. That score was the start of a scoring binge.
Just 24 seconds after Bonner's tally, Tucker scored on a fast break to put the Vikings back up by two at 3-1. Then a minute later, Bonner headed a ball to Curtis Kosmowski, who finished to make it 3-2.
When Gibrill Sheriff was fouled in the box, sending Bonner to the penalty spot, Reservoir appeared poised to pull even for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Staedeli simply stole the moment.
"If you said I could have a PK with Colin taking it, I'd take that 100 percent of the time," Reservoir coach Paul Linkins said. "It's going to take him awhile to get over it, being a senior, but he's got a lot to be proud of. We don't get to that point without him."
In other 3A East action, River Hill dropped a 3-0 decision on the road against top-seeded Stephen Decatur, and Hammond's season ended against J.M. Bennett.
In 2A North, Marriotts Ridge wasted little time getting the upper hand on Oakland Mills. Brad Martinelli scored three minutes in and the Mustangs never slowed down on their way to a 4-0 victory.
The hot start, which also included a goal by Amir Najib nine minutes after Martinelli's tally, was something Marriotts Ridge coach Kevin Flynn had put a lot of emphasis on.
"One of the main things we talked about was coming out aggressive and getting off to a good start," Flynn said. "You don't want to fall behind against Oakland Mills and allow them to sit back and pack it in. If you let them hang around, they can be extremely dangerous."
Marriotts Ridge held that 2-0 lead going into halftime before adding scores by Jesse Caples and Jonathan Muth in the final 40 minutes. Nick Applegate (two) and Martinelli finished with assists.
The Mustangs, the top seed in the region, advance to host Owings Mills in the 2A North semifinals on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.
Glenelg, which had beaten Chesapeake-BC, 3-0, in its opening-round game, dropped a 3-2 decision to Dundalk in the quarterfinals Tuesday.