COLUMBIANA — With the game on the line, Warren JFK coach Anthony Ledenko wanted his best guy with the ball on his foot.

And for the Kennedy boys soccer program, there’s none better than Nick Ryan.

Ryan scored a penalty kick in overtime to send the Eagles past Crestview 2-1 in a Div. V sectional Tuesday night.

“It’s like in basketball, with the clock running down, you want your best player to take the shot. He’s our guy,” Ledenko said. “It’s been fun coaching him for four years.”

Ryan – JFK’s all-time leading scorer – said he knew he needed to be the one to end the game. He had already scored in the first half, but now it wasn’t just the game, it was the JFK (7-9-2) season hanging in the balance.

The JFK senior connected with the ball, and Crestview goalie Riley Mercer got a piece of the ball. But there was too much on the shot, and the ball found its way into the bottom-left corner 4:28 into the extra period.

“As soon as it hit his fingertips I was like, ‘Oh geez,'” Ryan said. “I was hoping it hit it hard enough to get by him.”

Ryan didn’t just end the scoring, he started it as well.

His speed down the middle created problems for the Rebels all night. But his biggest impact in regulation came in the opening minutes.

He got to a centering kick around the Crestview 30-yard line. Then he created enough space to fire off a shot and yet again found the bottom-left corner just under four minutes into the game.

From that point on, it was all Mercer. The sophomore keeper did everything in his power to keep the Rebels (10-8) in the game.

Need to center up a shot? He did it. Need to leap to grab a ball in mid-air? He got to it. Out of position because the ball hit the crossbar and a header was coming? No problem. Just kick the ball out the side on a hockey-like sliding stop.

“The motto we had to find was perseverance, because no one gave us credit for anything,” Crestview head coach Tony Dolan said. “We had to build back and add that mindset. … I’m proud of ’em.”

By the end, Mercer finished with 11 saves and impressed both sides of Rebel Stadium.

“Tony runs a great program, and the goalkeeper today, holy cow,” Ledenko said. “Nick Ryan’s a two-time all-state player, and he’s keeping him to two goals when he had probably 100. It’s insane.”

Mercer’s play in the net allowed the Rebels to keep fighting. And with 1:06 left to play, they finally broke through.

The Rebels controlled the ball for most of the final five minutes, repeatedly throwing the ball in and taking free kicks. Eventually one free kick got into some traffic in the box, and Jaden Moore headed a ball past Matt Wagner into the bottom-left corner to get the Rebels on the board and force overtime.

But Crestview couldn’t strike early enough, and the Rebels’ season came to a close.

It was emotional on the Crestview sidelines, not just because the season ended, but because its the start of a new era.

The senior class of Asher Moore, Brendan Dolan, Jacob Wright and Draden Devine were the final members of the Crestview team that made it to state.

“It was their time to define to the next guys what it takes to continue that tradition,” Tony Dolan said. “We had a lot of bumps and bruises, but like any family, we grew from them. We found our groove late, and that’s what will define this team.”

For the Eagles, they will advance to the next round, where a road playoff game awaits in Campbell. The Red Devils and Eagles will face off on Friday at 5 p.m.

“Especially being a senior, to get another game, there’s nothing like it,” Ryan said. “I came in here thinking, ‘I can’t let this be my last game, I can’t let this be my last game.’ Thankfully, it wasn’t.”