By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

Riverside was thinking upset Thursday night in LaPlace.

Only a week after the Rebel girls defeated the St. Charles girls for the first time in the history of the series between the teams, the Rebel boys soccer team led St. Charles 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Beau Gaudet.

St. Charles would tie things up in the second half, however, forcing overtime, where SCC would score twice to emerge with a 3-1 victory.

 Alex Rome, Albert Hane and Bradley Odom each scored goals for the Comets, the latter two coming in overtime.

“The boys were pumped up for senior night before the game,” said St. Charles coach Bill Ballard. “We honored them beforehand and we thought we would have a lot of energy. But it didn’t feel as good once we got out there … we were shaky all over, but we were able to get it done in overtime.”

Said Riverside coach Stephen Millet: “I’m absolutely proud of my team. They played with a lot of heart and character, and that’s what I want out of my program. They played with pride.”

The Comets controlled the ball for much of the first half but fell behind when Gaudet leaked out past the St. Charles defense with the ball and scored 20 minutes into the first half, lifting the Rebels to a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first half was a bit more back-and-forth in terms of possession. But in the second half, a familiar refrain struck for St. Charles; it would get shot after shot but could not finish, despite holding the ball in Rebels’ territory for the majority of the second half. Balls went wide left, wide right, and a few through the field goal posts above the net.

“We had more opportunities than the law allows,” said Ballard. “There were no words to describe it. We had chances, but we don’t know how to consistently finish.”

The Comets just missed on two such opportunities in the first half on shots by Rome and Jimmy Antin.

But 11 minutes into the second half, Rome tied the match at 1-1 on a diving header, driving the ball into the net on a cross from Antin.

“I saw it out there and just dove at it,” said Rome.

“We just really wanted to win tonight and once we got down, we knew we’d have to fight and come back.”

SCC narrowly missed taking the lead when Zachary Bell’s shot hit the right bar, than again on another attempt by Rome that almost leaked into the net before being gathered up by Riverside.

Other chances were thwarted by RA goalkeeper Zachary Sparcella, who made a number of impressive saves in the second half.

The Comets last chance to win in regulation came on a throw in that sailed wide right.

“I thought for the most part we were able to stay disciplined and therefore stay in the game.”

But it didn’t take the Comets long once overtime began to get out ahead, as only a minute in Hane scored on a ball that fell loose in the box, knocking it in to put SCC ahead 2-1.

After the first 10-minute overtime period ended, the Comets added one more in the next, scoring on Odom’s goal with seven minutes left in the game.

The win secured the first double digit winning season for St. Charles since 2008.

The Comets stand at 10-5-2.

SCC’s game Tuesday with E.D. White was rained out and rescheduled for Jan. 29.