WILLARD, Mo. - It was quite the scene.
The Helias Crusaders scored twice in the final two minutes Wednesday night to take a 3-1 victory against the Willard Tigers in a Class 3 soccer sectional.
But red was the color of the night as three Willard players and its coach received red cards and were ejected in the last 20 minutes of the contest.
"I've never seen anything like it," Helias coach Chuck Register said.
Willard, which had scored in double digits in two of its last four games, got on the board first midway through the opening half.
"We were kind of disorganized early, they sent the ball over the top and scored," Register said.
But the Crusaders answered three minutes later in their first- ever game against the Tigers. Sam Heckart headed a corner kick and Nathan Mercurio was there to put it into the net.
"That settled us down and it's a game again," Register said.
Willard's first red card came midway through the second half when a Tiger kicked and cleated Heckart after a slide tackle near midfield. In the ensuing argument, Willard's coach received a red card as well.
The Tigers, playing down one player, still kept up the offensive pressure.
"They were still dangerous, sending the ball long," Register said. "We were having to play good defense."
Helias took the lead with 1:41 remaining. Mercurio found Dane Haugen open heading down the right side of the box and the senior knocked a shot into the net just inside the near post.
The Crusaders then tried to run out the clock. Helias took the ball to the corner on the Willard end of the field with about :30 remaining and a Crusader was tackled by a pair of Tiger defenders. Both Willard players were shown the red card and ejected.
On the ensuing corner kick, Braden Remmert's boot went off the hands of the Tiger keeper into the net to make it 3-1.
Willard then spent the last seconds of the game kicking around between its seven remaining field players.
Register credited Helias' experience as being a factor in getting the win under the strange circumstances.
"The schedule that we play, the competition that we play, helped us a lot," he said. "We've made adjustments, got refocused and were ready to play."
With the win, Helias (11-13-2) advances to Saturday's quarterfinal against Glendale (18-5-1) in Springfield. Glendale advanced with a 6-1 sectional win Tuesday against Carthage.
"They're going to be tough, they have blown a lot of people out," Register said.
Game time is expected to be 1 p.m.
Related media:
Helias vs. Willard photo gallery at Ozark Sports Zone
Game video of Helias vs. Willard soccer at Willard Tigers Net