PAW PAW – A furious second half rally came up short for the Dowagiac varsity soccer team Wednesday night against the host Redskins.

After the two teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation, Paw Paw picked up a goal late midway through the second overtime to defeat the Chieftains 4-3 in a Wolverine Conference match.

The Redskins picked up a pair of early goals by Fidel Solis to take a 2-0 lead on the Chieftains, who got off to a slow start.

Dowagiac finally got on the board in the 32nd minute as Hazen McMeeken scored on a penalty kick.

But a penalty kick awarded to Paw Paw with just 18 seconds left in the first half allowed Tyler Johnson to give the Redskins a 3-1 halftime advantage.

Dowagiac was not through, however, as the Chieftains scored twice in the second half to deadlock the match at 3-3.

The first goal came in the 74th minute as Dowagiac crashed the goal and the Redskins ended up scoring an own goal to make it 3-2.

Two minutes later, Craig Zebell scored on a penalty kick to make it a 3-3 match with six minutes to play.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final six minutes and the match headed to a “Golden Goal” overtime session.

After 15 minutes of play, the two teams were still tied at 3-3.

In the second overtime session, Solis picked up the hat trick with a goal in the ninth minute.

Dowagiac will now get ready to open up Division 3 district play on Monday afternoon as it travels to Brandywine.

The match will now start at 4:30 p.m.

Dowagiac…3
Paw Paw…4
Halftime score
Paw Paw 3, Dowagiac 1

First half
P – Fidel Solis 5th minute
P – Solis 24th minute
D – Hazen McMeeken 32nd minute (penalty kick)
P – Tyler Johnson  (penalty kick)

Second half
D – Paw Paw own goal 74th minute
D – Craig Zebell 76th minute (penalty kick)

Second overtime
P – Solis ninth minute