Since early October, Newton South soccer head coach Floyd Butler has made a point of integrating penalty kicks into his practice routine. And it’s not a throwaway exercise, either: Butler tries to simulate the pressure of a real game by recording who makes (and misses) penalties, and then holding the team accountable for their performance.

On Thursday evening, South called upon all of that preparation when they needed it most. Tied 0-0 after overtime with host Newton North in their Round of 16 playoff matchup, the Lions prevailed 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout, South goalkeeper Neo Kouri making the decisive save to ice the victory.

Kouri called the victory “amazing.”

“[It’s] my senior year, probably my last time playing soccer ever with this group of men,” he said. “People doubted us at the beginning of the season, saying we lost a lot of seniors, but look at us now. Round of 8. Let’s go.”

The match was physical from the opening whistle, with South’s Oliver Harmon and North’s Lorenzo Grimaldi having to be separated only five minutes in. South seemed to feed off the physicality, controlling the tempo and making a number of runs at North’s defensive line. Lions forward Benji Dias looked especially dangerous, forcing a diving save from North’s Ciaran Franks in the 16th minute, and then sending a shot over the bar in the 23rd.

“The first forty minutes might have been some of the best football we’ve played all season,” said Butler. “We were on the front foot, it felt like we controlled territory, possession, we looked gritty, which is something maybe we didn’t have all season long.”

Halftime gave the Tigers a chance to settle down. And when play resumed, it was the Tigers who looked like the more dangerous side. Wingers Grimaldi and Aiden Pavlides made life difficult for South’s defense, running along the sidelines and winning their one-on-one battles. Then, in the 54th minute, North almost pulled ahead when Nikita Lutskiy lifted a shot over Kouri but watched it ricochet off the crossbar.

North almost pulled ahead in the overtime period when Grimaldi curled a ball into Pavlides, stationed yards from the South goal, but the winger headed over the bar.

With the game still knotted at 0-0 after overtime, the teams headed to penalty kicks.

Through three rounds each side had converted their shots. Then Kouri, the Lions’ goalie, stepped up to the penalty spot to take a shot of his own. He hit the post.

North had a chance to take the lead, but Lutskiy drove his shot over the crossbar. After South’s Mateo Rosales converted to put the Lions ahead 4-3, it was up to North’s Dean Olszewski to try to keep the contest going. Olszewski shot left, Kouri dove left, and when Kouri stopped the ball, South players sprinted to the stands to celebrate with their delirious classmates.

“I missed the penalty, but I knew I had to come back somehow,” said Kouri. “I had full belief in myself.”

After the game, Butler reflected on what it had taken to beat a strong North side that had taken down the Lions 3-0 earlier in the season.

“One of the reasons we fell short to North earlier this season was because we spent a little too much time talking about how this is some big rivalry, and the boys kind of crumbled under the moment in the regular season,” said Butler. So during preparations this week, he just emphasized that this was another game against a good opponent—and a chance to fix some mistakes from their previous meeting.

“It’s rare when you mess something up to get an actual chance to remedy it within a month. That’s not very common in real life,” he said. “So I was excited about it.”

Next up for the Lions: a quarterfinal date at Concord-Carlisle, where they will look to avenge a 5-0 loss from earlier this season.

MORE IMAGES

South’s Callum Yorke (7) celebrates a playoff victory. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

Newton South players run towards the stands to celebrate with their classmates after defeating Newton North. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

Newton South players stand and watch the penalty shootout to decide the game. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

Newton South’s Callum Yorke (7) is congratulated by his classmates after the playoff victory. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

South’s Benji Dias (23) looks towards the North cheering section after converting his penalty kick. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

South’s Ethan LaVelle puts a shot on goal in overtime. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

North’s Lorenzi Grimaldi (10) attempts an acrobatic kick towards goal. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

The game was a physical one from the start, with South’s Benji Dias (23) upending North’s Harry Wilson (20) in the first half. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

North’s Wyatt Zakrzewski (25) gets to the ball ahead of South’s Ben Hegarty (2). (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

North’s Lorenzo Grimaldi (10) and South’s Ben Hegarty (2) compete for a header. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon

North’s Nikita Lutskiy (11) slaps hands with teammates ahead of the game. (c) Burt Granofsky/Newton Beacon