Cleveland won a thrilling opening round match in the boys soccer state playoffs, beating McMinnville with a goal in the last seconds of regular time to win 1-0 on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Cleveland Stadium.

With time winding down and less than a minute to play, the 14th-ranked Warriors were given a throw in 15 yards away from the McMinnville goal. The Warriors threw the ball in towards the goal where it was chipped up towards the back of the box. With two seconds left on the clock the ball fell to Logan Puppo, who fired a volley into the back of the net to win the game.

As the buzzer sounded, the Warriors rushed to the sideline to celebrate with the student section who stormed the field.
The first half was back and forth, with both teams having close chances, but neither team was able to capitalize and score. The second half was the same until the last minute of the game.

With the win the Warriors will move on to face Grant in the round of 16. Grant, ranked 30th, upset No. 3-seeded Central Catholic 1-0 in the first round. The Warriors and Generals will face off on Wednesday, Nov 1, at Cleveland at 6 p.m.

Puppo, the Warriors’ hero, said about his game-winning goal, “Everybody thought we were gonna go into extra time, but I saw an opportunity and I ended the game there.”