MACON — With the Thomasville Bulldogs having converted their first three penalty kicks, Union County’s Steven Seiler stepped to the line for his shot.

He aimed at the left side of the net. Bulldogs senior keeper Marc Davis, already having turned aside one Panther penalty attempt, dived to his right, and the shot deflected off his outstretched hands and away from the net.

That set the stage for sophomore Lawson Brinkley, whose penalty kick found the right side of the net and sent his Bulldogs teammates — already on the Five Star Stadium field for the penalty kick round, into a wild jubilation for their 2-1 Class AA state soccer championship victory.

“It’s phenomenal,” coach Keith Gwaltney said of the win. “Words can’t describe it. I’m just extremely proud of every one of them. I’m just really grateful it came out the way it did.”

It was Thomasville’s first state soccer championship since 2010, and it was also the last game for Gwaltney. The veteran coach acknowledged he could not have written a better ending to his career.

“I wish we would have won it earlier,” he said, “but it doesn’t get any sweeter than that.”

As there had been all season long, there weren’t many Bulldogs to join in the celebration. Union County brought a roster of 22 to the state title game, enough for two full squads. 

Thomasville brought just 15 players, enough for four substitutes. 

“They’re the ‘chosen few,’ because they chose to stick it out,” Gwaltney said.

Union County’s Brian Smith got the game’s first goal, scoring at the 27:19 mark from 25 yards out. From there, however, the Bulldogs had the better and the majority of the scoring chances. 

With just over 7 minutes to go in the first half, Braxton Hall sent a crossing pass to Andrew Geyer, who headed a pass to a breaking Nico Peralta. Peralta collided with Union County keeper Aaron Helton, and the Panthers recovered to clear the ball away from danger.

Two minutes later, another combination led to the tying goal. Hall ran down a long through ball and sent a crossing pass to Geyer, whose initial shot was stopped. But Geyer found the carom and forced it in with 5:19 remaining in the half.

Davis turned in the first big play of the second half, leaping to snare Smith’s shot headed for the top left corner less than three minutes into the second half. 

Thomasville had chances after that to take the lead. Peralta’s shot after a Geyer direct kick hit the side of the net. Just barely halfway through the second half, Peralta fired a shot that smacked off the crossbar, and Hall’s rebound attempt sailed too high over the net. 

With just over 3 minutes remaining in regulation, Helton made a diving stop on Geyer after the freshman had a long run through the Panthers defense.

“We couldn’t find the back of the net,” Gwaltney said. “We had a lot of chances. We had a ton of chances. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t get in there. Our guys didn’t get depressed. They continued to battle. They didn’t give up. They kept fighting. I’m just super proud of our guys.”

In the ensuing 15-minute overtime, a Geyer cross early in the extra session got through Helton but the Bulldogs couldn’t get to it before the Panthers defense cleared it away. 

In the final minute, Peralta appeared to have a step on the Panthers defense and was brought down in the box, but no foul was called, much to the Bulldogs’ fans consternation. 

That led to the penalty kick round, with Peralta, Hall and Seth Wier converting. MJ Delatte scored on Union County’s first attempt — the second try overall in the PK round — but Davis smothered Kobi Robbins’ shot on the very next kick.

“It’s a matter of picking the right guys,” Gwaltney said of his players who converted their PK attempts. “And we certainly had the right goal keeper, didn’t we?”

Making one save in a penalty kick round is rare enough. To make two, especially in a game of that level, is rarer still.

“And the second one was just beastly. It was just supernatural,” Gwaltney said.

Davis, one of four seniors, played his final game for the Bulldogs. The previous two seasons, Thomasville had reached the state semifinals, only to fall one game short of a state championship appearance.

“It means we have a great future here at Thomasville,” Davis said. “We made it to the Final Four three years in a row. We’ve got big things ahead of us at Thomasville.’

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.