A miraculous score by Brendan Kenney in the waning seconds of regulation ignited Hahnville – on the field, on its sideline and in the stands – tying the Division I playoff game between No. 13 Hahnville and No. 20 Northshore 1-1 and forcing overtime.
But Noah Leibe of Northshore fired what proved to be the game-winning shot with 3:39 left to play in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 victory and bring the Tigers’ season to a heartbreaking end.
The Panthers were faced with the prospect of a long offseason after potentially letting a victory slip through their fingers given the late regulation score by HHS – but Leibe would have none of it.
“I saw it go in the back of the net and I had no clue what to do,” said Liebe. “My heart flared up. I ran here, I ran there … I never hit shots like that, and it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe I did it in a game like this.”
Hahnville head coach Matt Oubre said Liebe’s kick was rare.
“His shot, it was phenomenal,” Oubre said. “I don’t know who’s going to stop that. I had the best line of sight to see it and it curled right into the side of the net. Just a perfect shot by him.”
Northshore (11-8-2) advanced to round two to face No. 4 seeded West Monroe, which defeated Woodlawn-Baton Rouge 3-0 in the opening round.
Kenney’s shot came deep into stoppage time, with the Tigers trailing 1-0 after William Suckow’s breakaway score at the 23-minute mark of the second half put Northshore ahead.
“I just saw an opportunity,’ Kenney said. “Took it, scored it and put it away.”
But the celebration was fleeting. It was only the third loss of the year for Hahnville (14-3-2) in a season the program broke through to win its first district championship in a decade.
“It’s a heartbreaking loss,” Oubre said. “We were expecting the game to go to PKs (late in overtime) … it really is heartbreaking. We fought … fought in every game this season. We’ve had issues at times with starting slowly. Today, we started fast. We felt the game was going in our favor … they did a really good job holding our attack down. We didn’t generate as many chances as we normally do.
“We got one at the end of regulation and we felt like we had a really good chance in overtime. Wasn’t to be.”
Kenney’s goal embodied his team’s personality this season, one with that fighter instinct Oubre alluded to.
“A scramble right at the end … a hope and a prayer,” Oubre said. “It’s something we’ve practiced a good bit. We have guys who can really drive the ball, from the 40, 50-yard line, and get it into the box. From there, it’s just gutting it out and finishing.”
Kenney said his team entered the season with something to prove. Indeed, despite the playoff loss, the Tigers accomplished a great deal this season.
“District champs … we hadn’t been district champs in a decade,” Kenney said. “Only two losses before today … I’m really proud of our team. Everyone played their hearts out and we played as a team all season long.”
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