Tippecanoe’s district title hopes fell just short on Thursday evening in Xenia with a penalty kick loss to Oakwood.
Tipp scored first, as junior midfielder Carson King found the back of the net just before halftime.
Oakwood answered early in the second half, and neither team could break the stalemate the rest of regulation.
Both teams had great opportunities to win in the two 15-minute overtime periods, but the game went to penalty kicks where Oakwood won 3-0, sending Tipp home just short of regionals.
The Red Devils certainly had their opportunities with four goals called back for offsides throughout the game, including one in the second overtime period.
The loss ends Tippecanoe’s season with a 17-3-0 record. It was the program’s 36th District Final appearance in 41 years and the 18th time the Red Devils lost in the District Final.
Tippecanoe now owns a 17-6-4 overall record against Oakwood in what has been one of the program’s most closely contested matchups throughout the years. Tipp dominated the 1990s, but the last 12 meetings have gone 5-5-2 with only two of those being decided by more than one goal. In fact, 20 of the 27 all-time meetings have either tied or been decided by just one goal.
Tipp will graduate four seniors — midfielder Zach Schellhammer, and defenders Mason Harding, Levi Baileys, and Keaton Jackson. With considerable experience returning next season and the addition of a junior varsity that went 8-2-2 (allowing just three goals all season), the 2023 campaign looks to be promising once again.