The celebration could hardly be contained. The emotions were flowing.

Port Neches-Groves still has a few matches remaining in the season — as does Nederland — but PNG’s 4-1 shootout win after a 3-3 tie with its archrival Tuesday night brought out a catharsis of emotions, much of it caught on Twitter video.

“What made it emotional the most is a lot of adversity this team has faced,” coach Aimee Bates said. “This team has scratched and clawed. Every time adversity hit, they try to redefine themselves. Something happens, and we go back to the drawing board.”

That’s not to mention PNG earned a shootout win on the field of a Nederland team that had been unblemished in District 21-5A play going into Tuesday.

“[Tuesday] night was a rough one, that’s for sure,” Nederland coach Aaron Tomplait said. “It’s hard to go a whole district undefeated. We knew that going in. It was a heck of a game. Especially with that rivalry, you never know what’s going to end up happening.”

PNG’s adversity has come in the form of lost players, forcing the Indians to make a number of lineup changes. Some have been due to injury, and some for reasons Bates didn’t disclose.

Senior all-region player Mia Delgadillo returned to the lineup against Cleveland on Feb. 26, nearly a month after she tore an ACL against the same team. Her injury and comeback are similar to that of PNG basketball player Harlee Barnwell, who returned well in time to help the Indians qualify for their first-ever UIL playoff appearance.

The Indians (13-3-7, 6-2-1 in 21-5A, 20 points) hope they won’t be without junior Halley Smith for long, if at all. Smith sustained an apparent ankle injury in overtime, but not before drawing the assignment to defend against Nederland’s top scorer, Meg Sheppard.

“I thought [Smith] did a number on Sheppard,” Bates said.

Sheppard, who has scored in nearly every game this season, gave Nederland (17-1-3, 9-0-1 in 21-5A, 28 points) the lead with a shot from atop the penalty box late in the first half. PNG leveled the score on a Breeana Riggs penalty kick with 6:11 left in regulation, but Sheppard nearly broke the tie late in the second overtime period.

The 3-3 tie through overtime was not indicative of the defensive battles the Indians and Bulldogs have endured in recent years. PNG swept Nederland 2-0 and 2-1 in 2017, the two teams traded 1-0 victories in 2018 and Nederland won the first meeting of 2019 at PNG, 1-0.

“I just think both teams came out swinging,” Bates said. “We wanted to fire early and fire often.”

Tomplait said the Bulldogs have done well starting out fast in most matches and reminded them of that Tuesday night.

“The first time we played them, the wind was a big factor,” he said. “We didn’t have that [Tuesday] night. I told them come out, start strong and never take your foot off the pedal. Just keep going. That’s something I tried to hammer home after the first goal, and they answered right back. That’s what happens in great games. You have those kinds of wars.”

The season goals for both teams are still in front of them. Nederland could have won at least a share of the District 21-5A championship with a regulation or overtime win, but the Bulldogs can still secure the title outright with a win in either of its two remaining matches — Friday at home against Cleveland or March 19 at Dayton.

PNG, which had won the 22-5A title the past two years, is not entirely out of the hunt for a district title, but with games against Memorial (at home) on Friday, at Barbers Hill on March 19 and against Vidor (at home) on March 22, Bates has a longer-range vision for the Indians.

“Our goal is to really pick up and be able to compete against any team we face,” Bates said. “Our goal is to get to the regional tournament [5A Region III semifinals] for a fifth year in a row.”

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews

**REVISES records, awarding each team involved in a district shootout a TIE, regardless of outcome, per District 21-5A policy**