Anthony Cano had his chance Thursday and he knew he needed to make the most of it.

The South Warren midfielder did just that. He scored the game-winning goal in the second half of the Spartans’ 4-3 victory over Bowling Green in the boys’ soccer District 14 tournament title game at Drakes Creek Middle School.

Cano’s goal was the final blow in a back-and-forth battle that saw South fall behind at three different junctures.

“We never want to win a game 4-3,” Spartans coach Tom Alexander said. “That shows we weren’t very good defensively. But I love that we fought from behind. We only had one lead this whole game. They fought the whole way and went all the way through.”

The score was tied at 3 with just over 22 minutes left in the match. Cano was in the middle of the field and a teammate passed it to him from the right side.

Cano, with his back to the goal, spun right to find a shooting lane. The sophomore then buried a left-footed finish by Purples goalkeeper Oscar Zoellner, giving his team its first lead of the night at 4-3.

“As soon as I saw I got that turn, I was like, ‘It has to be a perfect shot,’ ” Cano said. “Oscar’s a really good goalkeeper. I knew I had to put it right in the corner.”

With the win, South Warren (13-8-1) claimed its second District 14 tourney title. Alexander’s 2016 squad also claimed the district crown.

The Spartans won this tournament as the No. 3 seed. They edged No. 2 seed and tourney host Greenwood on Tuesday, then topped rival and No. 4 seed Bowling Green (5-16-3) in the final.

“We’ve had a roller coaster of a season,” Alexander said. “We started off really, really, really hot and we went up really high. Then we had that stretch where nothing was going our way.

“When these guys have fun and they work together, that’s the result they have.”

The teams were scoreless for the first 15-plus minutes. BGHS forward Byamungu Amisi broke the scoreless tie with 22:58 left in the first half, but SWHS midfielder Anatoli Emina answered less than two minutes later to knot the match 1-1.

Purples forward Alex Yusk got his team back in front 2-1 with 17:54 left in the first, knocking home a rebound off the crossbar. That lead held until Spartans forward Eldin Velic scored off a corner with 1:30 left before half, tying the match 2-all.

Bowling Green struck one last time before half. Amisi got a run right up the middle of the field and sent a hard shot into the back of the net, giving the Purples a 3-2 halftime lead.

After surrendering three first-half goals, South Warren players and coaches made defense their second-half priority.

“We stopped giving them space and time,” Cano said. “They’ve got really talented players, so we cut that off.”

Spartans midfielder Luie Kogetsu brought his team back to level at 3-3, scoring off a deflection with 31:27 left in the second half.

Cano scored his go-ahead strike less than 10 minutes later. The South defense held off BGHS attacks over the rest of the half and held steady for the one-goal win.

Both teams now turn their attention toward next week’s Region 4 tournament, where another meeting is likely.

“We were a little short tonight,” Purples coach Scott Gural said. “But it would’ve been enjoyable to have another half of soccer.

“These guys were going hard tonight. It was one of the more exciting games I’ve witnessed. Hopefully we’ll see each other again.”

District 14 boys’ soccer all-tournament team

SWHS – Anatoli Emina, MVP

SWHS – Jonathan Itongwa

SWHS – Anthony Cano

SWHS – Hunter Armstrong

BGHS – Oscar Zoellner

BGHS – Taylor Neal

BGHS – Byamungu Amisi

GHS – Luke Overmohle

GHS – Ram Ceu

WCHS – Eldar Mahmutovic

WCHS – Jimmy Estrada

WEHS – Juan Duran

WEHS – Sebastian Young{&end}