Reid Spittler's OT heroics send Fishers to sectional final. 'The boys just made a play'
NOBLESVILLE — There was no play drawn up, no blueprint for how No. 6 Fishers wanted to play its free kick in the final 50 seconds of overtime against rival Hamilton Southeastern in their Class 3A Sectional 8 semifinal Wednesday night.
"The boys just made a play," coach Phil Schmidt said.
Boys sectionals: Scores, schedule, updated pairings
Grant Scott sent a ball into the box, Caleb Hernandez got his head on it and flicked it towards the middle, then Reid Spittler charged in and headbutted it into the back of the net. A 2-2 stalemate broken with 45 seconds remaining and a date secured with two-time defending 3A champion Noblesville in Saturday's sectional championship game.
"Coach was just like, 'Send everybody up,'" Spittler said. "We were just hoping for a lucky bounce and it fell my way. It feels amazing."
Spittler's heroics put the final exclamation point on what was an incredible 54 minutes of soccer.
Following a scoreless first half — one largely controlled by No. 18 Hamilton Southeastern in terms of possession — Kyle Clayton took center stage for Fishers. He initiated the game's four-goal barrage with about 32 mintues remaining, hooking in a free kick from 25 yards out.
After beating four defenders inside the HSE box only to be denied by the keeper, Clayton took a corner kick for the Tigers … and placed it perfectly onto the shoulder blade of teammate Ellis Shaner, who deflected it in for his first career goal, giving FHS a 2-1 lead with 17 minutes remaining.
"Kyle's a stud and he's as competitive a kid as you're going to find," Schmidt said. "Late and into overtime, he wanted the ball to go make a play."
Both goals were equally impressive — and both were answered in kind by Hamilton Southeastern. Blake Braden netted the initial equalizer, heading in a Cruz Jafri corner kick with 23:44 remaining, then Logan Puls answered Fishers' second go-ahead goal, batting in a chip shot with his noggin to force a 2-2 tie with eight minutes left in regulation.
"It took character," Spittler said of Fishers' response to HSE's two game-tying goals. "We weren't playing the greatest in the first half. We needed to take more possession into our hands. We did that in the second half and it showed at the end."
"We just go out and fight," Clayton added.
The game appeared destined for penalties entering the final minute of overtime, but the clock was stopped after a player kicked the ball away following a handball call on HSE. That delay, Schmidt observed, afforded Fishers the opportunity to send everyone into the box. They just needed to get it on frame and hope they could get to it first, he said.
Scott to Hernandez to Spittler and into the back of the net.
Ballgame.
"It would have been a shame to go to PKs and lose in a game you never trailed in," Schmidt said. "But a lot of credit to HSE. They played really hard and kept bouncing back and bouncing back. They're a good team and really well-coached."
Fishers (11-2-4) will face top-ranked Noblesville in the sectional championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. The Tigers and Millers played to a 1-1 draw on Aug. 29.
Hamilton Southeastern finishes the season at 7-6-3.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA soccer: OT heroics send Fishers to sectional final past HSE
