By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Cameron Harrington calmly approached the penalty area, stuttered his feet, and blew a shot past the outstretched arms of Kevin Tena-Aguirre to deliver the Briarwood Lions a 1-0 (5-4) penalty-kicks win over the Pelham Panthers on the road.

Harrington tore off his jersey and ran to his mother in the stands as the Briarwood faithful was sent into an absolute frenzy behind his winning goal. Despite the game being a regular season matchup, it felt like a playoff atmosphere.

The game saw both teams fail to find an edge in regular time. Briarwood stymied Pelham’s offensive attack with tough defense. Briarwood also struggled against the Panthers, with Tena-Aguirre denying plenty of opportunities.

Both teams cranked up the energy in the middle of the first half. Both teams had plenty of chances behind great passing, but the goalkeeping of Tena-Aguirre and the Lions’ Gavin Patterson limited offensive chances.

With the game knotted at zero headed to the second half, both teams were looking to get on the scoreboard and send their fans home happy. Pelham had a golden chance to break the tie early in the second, but Patterson continued to shine in net, turning away the opportunity.

Briarwood also had plenty of opportunities in the half. Hampton Smith had an open shot to take the lead, but it was rejected by the crossbar. The Lions’ counterattack also created scoring chances, but Tena-Aguirre continued to stand tall in goal.

The game headed to overtime after neither team scored in the second. Elder Esquivel had two free kicks in the first overtime for the Panthers, but neither could find the back of the net.

In the second overtime, Briarwood scored, but it was called off due to an offside foul. This brought the game to penalty kicks.

Both teams started off strong in penalty kicks, scoring their first three attempts. Johan Favero tried to make it four in a row for Pelham, but was denied by Patterson to make it 4-3 Briarwood.

Orlando Garcia-Avalos then scored for the Panthers to make it 4-4, which led to Harrington’s game-winner.

Up next for the Lions is a road trip to Mountain Brook to face the Spartans on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m., while Pelham will look to rebound at home against Stanhope Elmore on the same day at 7:30 p.m.