Lincoln defeats Chiles for first time since 2019 to advance to district championship

The Lincoln Trojans had not scored a goal against the Chiles Timberwolves in almost a year. That last time Lincoln found the back of the net against Chiles was in the first half of the 2021 6A District 2 championship game, where it ended up losing 2-1 in overtime.

Before that loss, Lincoln hadn't beaten Chiles since 2019. Since a 1-0 win over the Timberwolves on Dec. 11, 2019, with the lone goal scored by then-sophomore Meredeth Camron, the Trojans have gone 0-5-2 against its crosstown rival.

And once again, these two were meeting in a win-or-go-home game.

Lincoln had to get the monkey off its back and it started with finding the back of the net. With nine minutes left in regulation, down 1-0, sophomore midfielder Skye Williams picked up the rebound and buried it behind the Chiles goalkeeper to tie.

"Our mentality going into this game was better," Camron said. "We kind of hit a mental block when we play Chiles, but we're all connected and worked really hard, and it just gave us the upper hand."

The scoring drought was over, but there was still one thing left to do: win. The rivalry couldn't get more dramatic with the losers season-ending, the temperatures plummeting to below 50 degrees with the wind picking up and the game going to penalty kicks.

In extra rounds of a penalty kick shootout, following a leading goal from freshman forward Natalie Nelson, Chiles' final attempt to keep the game going rang off the post, ending Lincoln's losing streak to Timberwolves in a 1-1 (6-5) PK victory.

The Trojans' first postseason win over Chiles since Jan. 30, 2019, sends them to the district championship to face top-seeded Buchholz.

Breaking through

The Lincoln Trojans defeated the Chiles Timberwolves 6-5 after tying 1-1 in regulation time and a scoreless overtime thus resulting in penalty kicks Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.
The Lincoln Trojans defeated the Chiles Timberwolves 6-5 after tying 1-1 in regulation time and a scoreless overtime thus resulting in penalty kicks Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.

The goal from Williams shifted things for Lincoln. All season the team has been chasing Chiles leads and it finally netted one. It built momentum for the Trojans that they could convert against this team and now had the opportunity to do more damage.

"There are no words to describe the win," Trojans head coach Jono Williams said. "Once we got that goal, it was a big thing holding us back all season. Once we scored that goal we knew we had that motivation and had that energy to take it all the way."

After battling through two and a half quarters, the team's arrived at a penalty kick shootout, something they haven't been a part of since Feb. 7, 2020, which ended in favor of Chiles. Knowing that there aren't too many ways to recreate the situation, Williams told his team to just relax.

"We've been practicing shootouts situations, but you can't really simulate something like that with the pressure," Williams said. "I told them to calm down, start visualizing hitting your spot, don't worry about anything else, just hit your spot."

Junior forward Paige Churchill hit it, Camron hit it, senior midfielder Gracye Wood hit it (to tie it back up after going down 3-2) and Williams hit it. Lincoln.

Chiles responded with goals from senior midfielder Caroline Cummings (who also scored Chiles' lone game goal), freshman forward Kendal Anderson, junior defender Layla Thompson and senior defender Sadie Wolfe. However, the Trojans kept their composure in uncharted territory.

"I thought I was going to be really, really scared, but once I got out there I was really calm," Camron said. "I was ready to do it and put it away."

'We want to keep it going'

The ring of the goal posted, set off the Trojans running like the starting bell at a horse race. The excitement overtook them. Camron wasn't even sure if it was even the final round or not. She just ran as fast as she could.

"I just started running, Camron said. "I didn't even know if it was the one that made us win, but I just started running, and it was. I was just so happy."

There was a collective faith throughout the game on the Trojans' sidelines. The underclassmen were doing it for the seniors and vice versa. Lincoln knew it had a fighting chance after that first goal and didn't want this season to end.

"We have such great friendships on the team, so I knew they were doing it for the seniors because this would've been our last game," Camron said. "For us seniors too, we want to keep going. We're too good of a team to have it end here."

A trip to DeLand is still in the cards for Lincoln, but face top-ranked Buchholz in Gainesville for the district crown. The Bobcats have only lost three times this season, and the Trojans haven't won a district title in over five seasons but Friday's win proved that this year is different for Lincoln.

"That's a team we don't know much about and we didn't play them in the regular season, but we played them in a district semifinal last year and sent them home," Williams said. "They were a good, young team and have some players returning from that who are looking to avenge that loss. We're gonna have to refocus here, enjoy this win, but focus on the next one."

Friday's matchup adds another chapter in this rivalry. Both teams pushed each other to the brink in these games, battling for supremacy in the county. Despite having their season ended, the Timberwolves still had an impressive showing, posting a 7-5-2 record and breaking two players into double-figure point totals (Alexa Poage and Anderson) this season.

It's a rivalry that made both teams work harder for bragging rights. In a do-or-die situation, Lincoln was pushed by the motivation to finally beat this team.

"I think it's made us stronger as a team," Camron said. "Everybody really has to bring 100 percent when we step out on the field and everyone did that tonight. That's why we got the win."

Other area district results

Class 2A District 1 boys semifinals: Port St. Joe 5, Wakulla Christian 0

Class 6A District 2 boys semifinals: Buchholz 0, Leon 0 (4-3 Buchholz)

Class 6A District 2 boys semifinals: Chiles 2, Lincoln 1

Class 2A District 2 girls semifinals: Layfayette 1, St. John Paul II FF

Class 3A District 2 girls semifinals: Maclay 1, Marianna 0

Class 3A District 2 girls semifinals: Florida High 5, Taylor County 1

Class 4A Distrct 2 girls championship: Wakulla 3, Suwannee 1

Class 6A District 2 girls semifinals: Buchholz 4, Leon 1

Class 6A District 2 girls semifinals: Lincoln 1, Chiles 1 (6-5 Lincoln)

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com, on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lincoln tops Chiles in PKs to advance to 6A District 2 championship