The Panthers soccer upset bid in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 3 playoffs came achingly close on Saturday, with the Panthers ultimately losing 4-3 to Jamestown Community College. TC3, the #11 seed in the tournament, ends the season with a record of 3-8-1. Jamestown, the #6 seed, advances in the tournament with a record of 7-4-1.
The two teams squared off for the second time in less than a week, with TC3 pulling off an incredible comeback in their final regular season game to beat the Jayhawks and earn a bid to the playoffs. This time around, Jamestown again jumped ahead early, scoring the game's first goal in the first minute of play. But unlike the game last week, the Panthers responded quickly, evening the score with a goal by Stanley Wiggins (Wallyford, Scotland/Musselburgh H.S.) in the seventh minute of action. The 1-1 deadlock held the rest of the half, but the Panthers broke the tie early in the second.
In the 57th minute of play, Wiggins put the visitors ahead for the first time, 2-1. The lead didn't last long, as the Jayhawks responded with a pair of goals in the next five minutes, moving in front 3-2. The home team added an insurance goal in the 87th minute, but another goal by Wiggins just 30 seconds later made it a one-goal game again. The Panthers pushed to the final whistle, but couldn't net the equalizer.
Cillian Lynch (Dublin, Ireland/St. Vincent's School) recorded two saves in goal.