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The tears that flowed. The long hugs from seniors. Christ The King players and fans celebrating across the field.

It all felt far too familiar for Polk County.

Yet while the Crusaders again brought an end to the Wolverines’ season, there was very little about CTK’s 3-2 overtime victory Thursday in the second round of the state 1A girls soccer playoffs that echoed the team’s 5-0 West Regional final triumph a season ago. Same result, same G.M. Tennant Stadium venue, some of the same players – that was largely it.

Where the Crusaders (12-5-1) dominated last season’s matchup, they did nothing of that ilk in the rematch. What the three-time defending state champions did do, as is the case for all good teams, is make Polk County (13-5-1) pay for its few mistakes on a picturesque spring evening.

“Maybe I’m being completely biased, but I really thought overall we were the better team today,” said Polk County head coach Lennox Charles. “At least I thought we played better than they did.

“It’s like in any sport. They have a difference maker, and when you make mistakes, she makes you pay for them more often than not. And we did a really good job on her just about all evening long. But those two or three times that we had breakdowns, when we transitioned and she had space, she punished us.”

The difference maker in question is CTK sophomore Addison Peirce, whose two goals in regulation time raised her season total to 37. Peirce had four goals in last year’s state championship match. She entered Thursday off back-to-back four-goal efforts. The standout clearly knows how to find the back of the net.

And that Peirce did twice in the second half, each time giving Christ The King the lead. And each time Polk County responded, first with a Gabby Savaia goal, then with a Reeve Carroll strike, the latter with just more than seven minutes remaining in regulation, forcing the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Neither team struck in the first session. CTK, though, did early in the second, as freshman Anna Haynes found an opening just steps in front of the net and redirected a corner kick into the top right corner. The Crusaders then smartly kept the Wolverines at bay for the rest of the overtime period, sending kick after kick toward the corner flag in Polk County’s half of the field.

The Wolverines, who were able to rally twice, could not find magic a third time.

“Once we fell behind, it was just always having to catch up,” Charles said. “I felt like if we could ever have gotten the lead, it would have been completely different.

“It’s such a strange feeling. We did so well compared to last year. Obviously, they’re not the same team and we’re not. But we played really well and did a lot of good things. We just had breakdowns at the wrong time and they punished us for those breakdowns.”

Both teams had good looks at goal in the first half and, in each instance, the respective goalkeepers made stellar stops. Polk County’s keeper, Cate Brown, delivered another gem in the first minute of the second half as Lilly Reimels worked free three steps in front of Brown for a pass from Peirce. Brown, though, slid to her left and deflected the point-blank shot, keeping the match scoreless.

That changed two minutes later. Streaking down the left flank for a through ball, Peirce won the footrace and found open space. A Polk defender finally got to her right hip, but not in time to prevent Peirce from drawing even with the six-yard box before drilling a shot into the top of the goal for a 1-0 Crusader advantage.

Polk delivered the equalizer 10 minutes later. Taking a pass from Natalie Serrano, Carroll raced upfield before rolling a perfect lead pass between two CTK defenders to Savaia, angling in from the left wing. She met the pass at the top of the penalty area and sent a left-footed strike just inside the right post to even the match at 1-1.

Peirce responded in the 60th minute. Finding a bit of room above the penalty area, back to the goal, she faked a pass to a cutting teammate, flicked the ball behind her, spun and drove nearly to the six-yard box before rolling a shot past a charging Brown that settled just inside the far post.

Carroll, though, matched that effort with one of her own. Gaining possession in CTK’s end of the field, she dribbled near the top of the penalty box before moving to her right, marked closely by a Crusader defender. Carroll pushed toward the right corner of the box before hitting a drive just inside the far post, evening the match.

Polk had another sterling scoring chance less than a minute later as Charley Dusenbury worked free some 10 yards from goal, only to see a CTK defender deflect Dusenbury’s shot at the last second. The Wolverines then had a series of throw-ins deep in the Crusaders’ end of the field, but could never find a go-ahead score.

CTK finally did.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Charles said. “The effort, and what we did in terms of how we played. Everything we’ve worked on during the season, I felt like it really came together.

“Again, it’s just one or two little things that, if you do those at the right time, you avoid giving them opportunities. And when you have a special player and you have those few, and we had very few today, they take advantage. They make you pay.”