The boys of Point Loma High’s soccer team lost a chance to repeat as CIF champions when a questionable goal by their opponent sent the match to overtime before they lost on penalty kicks.

Playing against Steele Canyon High on a neutral Madison High School pitch, the two teams engaged in a game that was highly physical and played with great emotion by each side. Players ran with speed and intensity, bodies collided and the athletic trainers from each side were called to the field several times to treat players after particularly violent contact. And yet for the first 40-minute half, there was no score.

In the game’s 48th minute, during a scramble in front of the Cougars goal following a corner kick, Pointer Ethan Denney found the ball on his foot and quickly drove it into the net to ignite a celebration both on the field and among the vocal fans in the Pointers’ stands.

That slim 1-0 lead held up until the 63rd minute when a debatable Cougar goal tied the contest.

Pointer goalkeeper Owen Purvis had been knocked to the turf by a Cougar forward, the two players lying prone on the goal line in front of the Pointer net. No whistle sounded from the referee and the Cougars were able to kick a loose ball over the pair into the net. The referee and his assistants conversed for several minutes before indicating the goal would stand.

From that point, the teams went at each other for 17 minutes of regulation time and a 15-minute sudden-death overtime period. Each team had scoring changes during this time.

Late in regulation, on consecutive corner kicks, a Pointer header went over the goal’s crossbar and another shot caromed off the right post. A Cougar shot bounced off the post and later, after a ball got away from Purvis, it was shot wide. Any of these could have ended the match in regulation time.

By CIF rule, the championship was to be decided by penalty kicks.

Denney took his team’s first shot and scored against Cougar goalkeeper Elder Ibarra as the teams took turns in the five-round session. Teammate Cooper Rohnow also put the ball past Ibarra but the Pointers’ final shooter was denied, the Cougars winning by a 3-2 margin.

Many Pointer players fought back tears as the teams lined up for a postgame handshake and awards ceremony. Head coach Elliott Savitz accepted the Div. I runner-up plaque. PLHS principal David Jaffe and athletic director Manny Diaz Jr. were on hand to join coaches in presenting players with their patches.

“We battled through everything, including injuries, this year and to make it this far (to the finals) is a really big accomplishment and we should be proud,” Denney said as the crowd dispersed. “When it comes down to penalty kicks, there’s nothing you can do.”

Denney will continue playing soccer in Tennessee at NCAA Div. III Maryville College, a member of the Collegiate Conference of the South.

“These boys played so hard and grew up so much in a six-week span,” Savitz said. “I couldn’t be happier with the type of players they became. They were hungry, they were determined, they learned and they just got better and better. We had three or four key guys playing through a lot of pain. That’s why I was so proud of them. Today we came up just a little bit short.”

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In CIF seeding, the Pointers were No. 7 and Steele Canyon No. 9 in Div. I. The top six teams were eliminated.

Purvis received the Sportsmanship Award, presented by CIF to one player on each team.