For the second time in three years, the Pella Christian boys soccer team needed extra time in a Substate Final matchup, but history repeated itself as the Eagles fell 2-1 in double overtime at West Central Valley Thursday night.

After just over 20 minutes of scoreless soccer to start the contest, Pella Christian broke through with the game’s first goal. In the 22nd minute, Dallas Ford stopped a Wildcats attack and booted the ball down field, where it found the head of Ethan Van Arendonk. From nearly 55 yards away from the goal, Van Arendonk headed the ball down field, where it found Theo Hugen and he beat the defense and the goalkeeper to give the Eagles 1-0 lead from 20 yards out. Pella Christian maintained the advantage for the rest of the first half and deep into the second half, before West Central Valley pulled back even at 1-1 with a header off of a corner kick in the 67th minute. The tie held for the final 13 minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime, and both teams went scoreless in the first 10-minute extra period, sending the game to double overtime. On the verge of yet another scoreless extra period, the Wildcats managed to break the tie with another header on a corner kick in the game’s 100th minute to end the Eagles’ season.

Pella Christian head coach Mike Vander Molen said that he was proud of how the team played with intensity and poise for all 100 minutes of action. Vander Molen added that the boys left it all out on the field, and that the hardest part of the loss was knowing that he won’t get to coach this group again.

Pella Chrisitan ends the season with a 9-8-2 record and graduates seven seniors in Van Arendonk, Hugen, Clay Lauterbach, Eric Mome, Nathan Brouwer, Camden Parker, and Isaac Pence.