Colombia – It was a great memory that I won’t soon forget.
Johnny Bunnecke scores a golden goal in double overtime on Saturday as St. Joseph's University men's soccer team defeats Christchurch 2-1 at Memorial Stadium, clinching the Knights' second consecutive Class A state championship. The winner has been decided.
Four attacking players touched the ball as it bounced in front of the net, and Bunnecke's touch sailed past the goalkeeper and into the right corner, ending the sudden-death portion of extra time with just a minute to go.
“It was a chaotic situation. Everything was happening everywhere,” Bunnecke said. “It was just muscle memory. I didn't know what happened until it happened. I still don't really understand what happened.”
Bunnecke hasn't been a full-time player this season, but he's performed well in some of the biggest moments and couldn't be any better.
“His playing time was limited this year because we had a heavy emphasis on seniors,” St. Joseph's coach Frank Kucinich said. “He's a golden goalscorer. He had another one at the beginning of the season. I'm really happy for him.”
Thomas Flanigan scored early for St. Joseph's (17-4), giving the Knights the lead with about 15 minutes left in the first half. Christchurch's Reeves Dobson (16-6-1) tied the score with seven minutes left before the break.
St. Joseph's had the most attacking chances from there, but Christchurch had second-year goalkeeper William Osman, who made one highlight save after another.
In the first half, Patrick Kukaba thought he had given St. Joseph's the lead, but a penalty appeared to cancel out the goal. Kukaba then hit a perfect lob shot that almost floated over, but Osman sent it over the crossbar. He made another save with three seconds left before the halftime horn.
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“We finally got one in. Good for Johnny. We love him,” Kukaba said. “…There was that game where the referee called back. It was tough. But their goalie did a really good job. He was great. He played with them three times and said it was the best he's ever played.”
Other state championships scheduled for Saturday are Class A/AA girls Christchurch (18-3-2) vs. Oceanside (17-1-2) and Gray College (27-5-3). It was against Oceanside (17-0). 1) Class AAAA boys Eastside (21-2) vs. Lucy Beckham (19-3), Class AAAA girls Riverside (15-5-1) vs. James Island (15-4-1) Class AAAA men's match.
Todd Schanessy is a longtime sportswriter who currently covers high school athletics for the USA TODAY Network's Greenville News, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and the Anderson Independent Mail. Email todd.shanesy@shj.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter. @ToddShanesySHJ.