DES MOINES, Iowa — A seemingly straightforward playoff opener turned into a roller coaster ride for the Thunder Bay Chill, though they’ll continue to march on.
Despite squandering a three-goal lead in the second half, the Chill netted twice late in extra time to prevail in a high-scoring 5-3 contest over AFC Ann Arbor in their first-round USL League Two playoff contest on a hot Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It was really up and down for a few moments there,” said Chill forward Jamie Wynne, who recorded two of Thunder Bay’s first three goals.
“It was a crazy game. One of the most crazy games I’ve ever played in. But we got the job done now so we just need to focus on Sunday.”
Thunder Bay asserted control right from the outset of the game, taking an early need when Wynne notched the icebreaker in the ninth minute when the rebound from his initial shot ricocheted off his face and into the goal.
The Chill had several opportunities to extend the advantage, but carried the 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
What appeared to be adequate insurance came early in the second half, with striker Jose Gonzalez converting a penalty kick in his Chill debut and Wynne scoring his second for a 3-0 lead through 55 minutes.
At that point, it looked like Thunder Bay had the outcome secured and were ready to start looking ahead to Sunday’s conference semifinal.
Ann Arbor had other ideas.
The squad from Michigan found a spark when Ryan Hannosh delivered a well-placed shot past goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah to get on the board in the 70th minute, immediately after the Chill made a slew of substitutions.
“We dropped our guard and that gave them the momentum,” Thunder Bay head coach Tony Colistro said. “We were resilient. We hung in with it and got the job done eventually. It was a good learning game for us.”
Ann Arbor pulled within one in the final 10 minutes when Richard Kodjo rolled a shot into the goal. The equalizer came shortly before the 90-minute mark when a long pass went over the head of Chill defender Pierre Lurot, and Hannosh avoided a challenge from Sallah to have a wide open net.
Sallah was pressed into duty in injury time, making two key saves to keep his team alive to reach the full-time break.
“The message was to stay positive and our opportunities would come,” Colistro said of what he told his squad before the start of extra time.
The match looked destined to be decided by penalty kicks, but the Chill pulled back ahead in injury time of the second half of added time. Sullivan Silva had a shot on target spilled by Ann Arbor substitute keeper Youssou Ouendeno, leading to a scramble that ended with the ball in the net.
Wynne, who was substituted off prior to Ann Arbor’s first goal and was left with no involvement but to watch the lead be erased, was among those who rushed to join in on the celebration.
“It was pure joy,” he said. “We were all excited. It was crazy.”
The Chill added one more before the final whistle, with Brian Ananias scoring from the spot for Thunder Bay’s second penalty kick goal of the contest.
The Chill will take on the winner of Friday night’s contest between division-rival RKC Third Coast and the Des Moines Menace in the conference semifinal on Sunday.
