VINCENT - A rainbow appeared in the heavens after Warren rallied to defeat visiting Marietta 2-1 in overtime in a boys' soccer sectional final Saturday.
A good sign for the Warriors? Perhaps.
Warren, the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League co-champion with a 12-2-4 overall record, will now advance and play either Washington Court House or Lancaster Fairfield Union in a district semifinal at Lucasville Valley at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
"You know that when it's Marietta-Warren game, it's going to be 2-1 or 1-0," said second-year Warriors' head coach Andrew Johnson. "That 5-2 game doesn't usually happen."
During regular-season play, Warren beat Marietta, 5-2 in Vincent, and also lost to the Tigers, 1-0, at Don Drumm Stadium.
Eli Duff scored the equalizer in the second half, and Evan Yabs got the match-winner early in overtime for Warren, which trailed 1-0 at the intermission.
Owen LaBarre had the only score for the East Central Ohio League repeat champion Tigers, who exit with an 11-4-3 overall mark.
"It's tough," said MHS head coach Todd Morris. "I thought we had the game in hand 1-0, but give Warren credit for coming back. They defended their home field. They finished, and we wish them the best of luck going forward."
Warren went on the attack early, and gave Marietta keeper Eric Pierce a workout between the pipes. Pierce, a junior, finished the contest with 13 saves.
At the 26:08 mark, MHS attempted its first shot on goal, and it was a good one as LaBarre drilled it past Warren goalie Cody Stanley to make it 1-0.
Then, just before the break, Marietta's Jacob Holdren slipped one into the back of the net, but the score was nullified due to an offsides.
"That was a big momentum swing," Morris said. "Obviously 2-0 is much better than 1-0."
Still offensive-minded in the second half, Warren finally tied the score at 1-all when Duff beat Pierce with a hard shot in the 63rd minute.
"I was just there and was able to finish it after the ball bounced off the keeper," said Duff who had a hat trick in the 5-2 win over Marietta.
Yabs, another glue player and a defensive mid, scored 2 minutes and 21 seconds into the extra session to give the Warriors the sudden death victory.
