By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area
Click the links above for all photos and videos from the Northern Region Tournament first-round game!
Through 80 minutes of goalless regulation, 20 minutes of overtime and three penalty kicks apiece, the first-round regional tournament match between Langley and No. 1 Robinson had all the makings of a bracket-breaking upset.
The Rams had a 99th minute goal by junior striker
Koko Makumbi taken off the board -- a call that devastated the home sideline -- and trailed the Saxons by two penalty kicks.
A goal by Langley in either of its final two attempts or another stop by Saxon keeper
Alec Constantine, and the Rams' season was over.
"In sudden-death overtime, we scored the goal, it was taken away and, at that precise moment, we were the most-vulnerable team in the region," veteran Robinson coach
Jac Cicala said. "And what was a concern to me was that we went down two penalty kicks.
"I thought it was going to be a difficult task to climb out of that hole."
But a pair of Langley strikes sailed off-target and when the next two Robinson kicks found the back of the goal, the sides stood all-square, headed to extra kicks.
On the eighth Saxon attempt, Ram senior
Samir Badr guessed correctly and made the save, leaving Makumbi a successful try away from getting his side through.
His shot went opposite of Constantine and into the goal for the game-clinching kick.
Makumbi was one of three Rams who made two successful penalties -- joining senior
Justin Koo and senior
Jimmy Brewer -- as Robinson survived the scare of upstart Langley, 6-5, in eight kicks on Tuesday night to advance to the regional quarterfinals.
"I was a little more nervous because he'd seen where I kicked the first one," said Koo, who connected on both the fourth and seventh attempt. "Then there's a little more confidence because I'd score on him once. And I had momentum going."
Added Cicala, whose team is ranked No. 7 nationally by ESPNRise: "Koo and Koko are just cool cucumbers in that situation, and so is Jimmy. They're very cool."
Mix in a goalkeeper with a professional future and youth national team familiarity, and the Ram confidence is almost overwhelming.
While fortune lent itself nicely with the Saxon misses on the fourth and fifth attempts, Badr -- a member of the D.C. United Academy team in the Tiffany Cup over Spring Break -- punched away a shot to his right for what proved the deciding save on the eighth Langley attempt.
He credited his experience, which is both domestic and international, as the key to succeeding with the promising Robinson season at stake.
"At that time, just from past experiences, I knew I just had to stay calm and control what I can control," said Badr, who will miss Thursday's quarterfinal due to national team training in Bradenton, Fl. "That was just making saves. I knew if I came up with one big one, I knew it would be over then. I just focused on getting my hands on it."
Added Langley coach
Bo Amato, on his young team's efforts: "I'm so proud of them, you have no idea. 3-1 up with two strikes to decide it, you think you're going to win it.
"At the end of the day, they're a group of 18-year-old men playing against a group of 16-year-old boys and that makes a big difference."
While Robinson advances to host Edison -- penalty-kick winners at Hayfield -- in the Northern Region quarterfinals, the Langley season ends, despite all the promise shown on Tuesday.
But, the Saxons return one of the deepest rosters in the Northern Region next season, one that will include midfielder
Josh Ellis, midfielder
Dan Flitcroft, striker
Jan Gunderson, midfielder
Farhan Khan, midfielder
Roshan Patel, midfielder
Dylan Price and striker
Joe Young.
That fact was not lost at all on the second-year Saxon coach.
"I think they're going to win it all next year, I said that before we started this year," Amato said frankly. "I said, 'You win next year and this year you could upset somebody.' And they very nearly did that.
"It's going to be a horrible 52 minutes on a little yellow bus with no AC, no CD players ... But I couldn't be more proud of my boys."
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.comLangley (8-4-2) 0 0 0 0 -- 0Robinson (12-1-2) 0 0 0 0 -- 0*Robinson wins on penalties, 6-5(click the links below for footage of each shot!)
Penalties -- Player (O/X) -- Score LG 1 -- Price (
O) -- 1-0
RB 1 -- Brewer (
O) -- 1-1
LG 2 -- Patel (
O) -- 2-1
RB 2 -- Vanegas (
X) -- 2-1
LG 3 -- Grayeli (
O) -- 3-1
RB 3 -- Murphy (
X) -- 3-1
LG 4 -- Walsh (
X) -- 3-1
RB 4 -- Koo (
O) -- 3-2
LG 5 -- Khan (
X) -- 3-2
RB 5 -- Makumbi (
O) -- 3-3
LG 6 -- Price (
O) -- 4-3
RB 6 -- Brewer (
O) -- 4-4
LG 7 -- Patel (
O) -- 5-4
RB 7 -- Koo (
O) -- 5-5
LG 8 -- Grayeli (
X) -- 5-5
RB 8 -- Makumbi (
O) -- 5-6