Glenvar soccer fans weren’t sure what kind of goalie Tyler Shannon was until last weekend’s state final four. After all, he only had to make a couple tough saves all season.
“Probably one or two,” said Shannon, as Glenvar usually held the opposition to fewer than a half dozen shots during the regular season. In their first 21 games Glenvar’s celebrated defense had allowed just four goals total, with backup goalie Drew Butler manning the net in the second half of mostly lop-sided wins.
That all changed last weekend in the state Class 2 Final Four. On Friday at Roanoke College’s Kerr Stadium Glenvar fell behind for the first time all season and were outshot for the first time, 10-9, by Bruton High. The Highlanders tied the game late in regulation but two five minutes overtimes and two sudden victory overtime periods couldn’t produce a winner. So, the game would be decided by penalty kicks, where anything could happen.
“We were practicing penalty kicks a lot in the past couple weeks,” said Shannon. “I was expecting I’d have to come up big in the post-season.”
In the tie-breaking procedure each team gets five penalty kicks, with the team most successful winning the game. However, after five rounds it was still tied at four makes each. That meant the kicks would continue in a “sudden victory” scenario.
Glenvar went first, and sophomore Henry Schruth connected for the second time. That meant Bruton had to get one by Tyler to continue to the next round. The Panthers had beaten Shannon to his right on a couple attempts, as Tyler dove to the left in anticipation. It’s somewhat of a guessing game with little time to react.
“I look at the way they line up, and trust our coaches,” said Shannon.
This time Tyler dove to the right and saved the ball, setting off a wild celebration on the field for the apparent win. However, the official was waving his arms by the goal as it was determined Tyler moved before he should have and a re-kick would be needed.
“One foot has to be on the line until the kick and I didn’t realize I was off,” said Shannon.
So, another kick was awarded to Bruton. Was Tyler nervous for this one?
“Not at all,” he said. “I kept saying in my head, ‘I’m going to save it’.”
The second kick went to virtually the same spot, and again Tyler made the diving save. His teammates spilled onto the field a second time, this time with a victory for certain.
With the win Glenvar went on to Saturday’s final, where the Highlanders defeated Clarke County, 4-1, to win the state championship. Once again they fell behind, 1-0, and once again Glenvar rallied for the win. The outstanding play of his keeper didn’t surprise coach Josh Jones, who knew what he had all along.
“You don’t see it in the (regular season) games, but we see it in practice every day,” said Jones. “Tyler has to make a lot of tough saves against our kids in practice and Ryan Kennedy(Glenvar assistant) has been working with him a lot on saving PKs. We have a lot of confidence in Tyler.”
And, adds Jones, just because Tyler doesn’t get a lot of action in Glenvar’s blow-out wins it doesn’t mean he’s not valuable to the team.
“He has a great leg and his kicks allow us to stay on the attack,” said Jones. “There’s more to being a good goalie than just making saves.”
Glenvar football coach Kevin Clifford has noticed. He’s tried to get Tyler to kick for the football team for the past several years, and Shannon is considering doing just that for his senior year. He can punt a soccer ball close to the length of the “pitch,” and his set kicks off the turf are long and straight.
“I’m going to look into it,” said Shannon, as Glenvar needs to replace all-state punter Brody Dawyot. “It will either be football or golf.”
At one point in his life Shannon wasn’t sure if he’d have a future in any sports. At four years of age he was diagnosed with Retina Blastona, a cancer behind his eye. He battled it for six years before being given a clean bill of health at 10 years old. During that time he made many medical trips to Charlottesville, where he became a favorite of the University of Virginia sports teams. The Wahoos have been very special to Tyler and his family.
“The day before the state Ronnie Wideman called me to wish me good luck,” said Shannon of UVA’s Senior Associate Athletic Director. “They’ve given me a ton of support over the years.”
Tyler goes for an annual checkup, but everything has been fine. Those struggles seemed like a long time ago when his dad Trevor, an assistant coach on the Glenvar team, got a big hug on the field after the win over Bruton.
“That was the best hug I ever got from him,” said a proud dad, even though it took two tries to make it happen.
