By Michael D. Clark
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SPRINGDALE - With only minutes to go, the underdog Princeton High School boys soccer team found themselves surprisingly tied with the state's now top-rated Wyoming team.

Cheryl Brookover holds the Princeton game ball from her son Jared (right) and coach Russ Fussnecker. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

A crucial penalty kick was awarded to Princeton and veteran coach Russ Fussnecker didn't hesitate in his unusual choice of which player would kick the potential game-winner in what could the biggest upset win of his coaching career.

He turned to senior Jared Brookover, a defender who had never scored a goal his entire high school career.

Why Jared?

Because hours earlier the 17-year-old student had learned that his mother had colon cancer and Mr. Fussnecker, and Jared's teammates, had dedicated the Wyoming game to the gravely ill Springdale woman.

"It was Jared's day. We were playing for his mother and it was the right thing to do," the coach says matter-of-factly, recalling the Oct. 12 match with Wyoming, then rated fourth in Ohio's Division II and now the top-rated team in the state.

"I called him over and asked him, `Do you think you can kick this penalty?' and Jared smiled and said `Of course.' All the kids and their parents were on the edge of their seats."

It wasn't easy, though. Jared used his strong right leg - he is also the kick-off specialist for Princeton's Viking football team, which plays at home against Moeller tonight- to rocket the free kick toward the goal. The Wyoming goalie moved quickly, blocking it.

But the senior was determined. As the ball ricocheted off the Wyoming goalie, Jared pounced on it for a second kick, scoring his first-ever point as a Viking as the coach, teammates and fans - most of whom knew about Jared's mother - exploded in tearful joy.

"It was a huge relief," Jared said. "I knew it would make her happy."

Princeton, which finished the season 3-6-6, gamely hung on to win 4-3, and Jared's teammates signed the game ball for his bedridden mother.

"It was something like you see in the movies," Mr. Fussnecker said. "There wasn't a dry eye anywhere."

There still isn't whenever Cheryl Brookover recalls the best thing about a terrible time for her. Tearfully she remembers urging her son to put aside the unexpected news of her cancer - and emergency operation the day before - to play in the last regular-season soccer game of his high school career.

"I didn't want him to sit and worry with me. I told him I wanted him to do his best and that would help me feel better. When he told me what happened I was so happy I started crying. It was beyond words," said Ms. Brookover, who is expected to make a full recovery.

She is grateful for the Mr. Fussnecker's thoughtfulness.

"It's beyond words. I think the world of him and how he is all for the boys. And it was so sweet of them to all sign the game ball," she said.

Ms. Brookover was close to her son before now, but "this has brought us a lot closer," she said, clutching the soccer ball.

E-mail mclark@enquirer.com