The DeKalb Middle School Saints stand as conference tournament champions for the first time since 2015.
DeKalb went to penalty kicks after regulation ended in a 1-1 tie. DeKalb would win on penalty kicks by a score of 6-5. DeKalb Head Coach Justin Nokes said the team had not practiced penalty kicks before the big game.
“The pep talk was, you know, put it in the corner, don’t try to overshoot,” Nokes said. “A lot of times that will happen and you’ll kick it over the goal and with your nerves and trying to kick it too hard, put it low in the corner, that’ll work and get the job done.”
The championship concluded an undefeated season for the Saints. They finished with a 15-0 record. Nokes said he could tell who wanted to take penalty kicks before giving the pep talk.
“You got a championship game, you got an undefeated season on the line, so the pressure’s building,” Nokes said. “I thought my guys did a really good job…”
Nokes said the community has shown a lot of support since the championship win.
“This has been really big in the community,” Nokes said. “It’s really put soccer on the map here at DeKalb.”
Six out of the seven shooters for DeKalb made their kicks. DeKalb’s goalie Braxton Bain saved the final kick to award DeKalb the championship. Nokes said he has seen people from around the community give their thanks and ask about the Saints team since the championship victory on Friday.
“I look forward in the future to hopefully continue that trend,” Nokes said. “Hopefully more kids and student athletes will be interested in soccer now that they’ve been exposed to it and seen a little team from little DeKalb County be successful on the big stage.”
