For the second night in a row, a Habersham Central High School soccer team has booked their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, this time it’s the boys moving on after a 5-0 win over Douglas County High School on Friday night in Mt. Airy.
As the No. 1 seed, the Raiders (13-3) will continue to host next week, welcoming Sprayberry High School (12-2-1) to Raider Stadium after the Yellow Jackets knocked off Etowah High School, 2-1, in their first round matchup.
The Raiders jumped out to a quick lead, notching their first goal in the second minute of play. Senior Juan Lara popped a nice chip pass over the top of the defense, connecting with Xavier Lopez. Lopez took a couple of dribbles before pushing the ball past the keeper to the far side of goal.
The two were involved in the run of play 22 minutes later as Lara took a shot on goal, which the keeper parried away. Following up on the shot, Lopez stepped up to the ball around 15 yards out and put enough pace on his shot to find its way into the net after deflecting off the keeper.
The dagger moment, which would typically come later in the contest, occurred just before the halftime horn in the Raiders’ favor.
The Tigers (7-9-1) drew a foul and took a free kick, directing a shot on goal instead of opting for a set piece attempt.
The low rocket was strongly knocked away by HCHS junior keeper Everett Rudeseal, who dove to his left and got a mitt to the oncoming shot.
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead into the break and would continue to get opportunities to extend their lead in the second half despite Douglas County putting nine, and sometimes 10, men behind the ball.
“We knew what they would try to do. We prepared all week to try to attack that in a certain way and, honestly, in the first half, we weren’t doing those things,” HCHS Head Coach Ric Wallace said. “We weren’t patient enough, we weren’t willing to play a ball to shift them and then open up the space to get in behind them.”
Wallace said throughout the first half he pulled a few of his guys and “got after them” for not following the game plan they’d worked on all week coming into the contest. Then, at halftime, he got into the whole team to make sure everybody was on the same page.
“Yeah, we were winning 2-0, but we weren’t executing the game plan. That was frustrating,” Wallace said. “In the second half, we executed it much better. (Douglas County), at 2-0, 3-0, still had 10, 11 guys behind the ball.
“We started finding gaps because we’d play in and move and get the third guy behind them,” he continued. “That was really what they did in the second half was start executing what we worked on.”
Junior Diego Gonzalez took a solo-effort run through the right side 10 minutes, 17 seconds into the second period, eventually slotting the ball past the keeper’s right side. The ball bounced and deflected off the left post and into the back of the net.
Just one second past the 14-minute mark into the second half, Lara would stand over a free kick 20 yards from the goal. With a wall of four men, the Tigers looked poised to keep the ball out of the net.
“That free kick was big from Juan,” Wallace said. “We talked about it last week, how he’s ready for that moment. He wants those moments and he’s executing them. That’s the key.”
Lara stepped up with his left foot, drove the ball over the wall, froze the keeper and found the top left corner of the net. The goal put the game well out of reach, changing the overall demeanor of the visiting squad that could already be heard exchanging words with each other.
Not to be left out, Tucker Bohannon, who has been a workhorse down the right flank all season for the Raiders, cashed in on his opportunity to get on the scoresheet. The senior carried the ball near the edge of the 6-yard box and unleashed a shot that, due to its pace, would deflect off the keeper’s gloves and into the side netting.
With the 5-0 victory, the Raiders continue to make a push toward their ultimate goal and they’re getting support as they learn to settle in and navigate the playoffs. Hosting the games is huge in that process.
“One of their goals is to make a run (in the playoffs) and it helps to be right here (in Raider Stadium),” Wallace said. “Look at the crowd tonight for a Friday soccer game in Habersham. It was fantastic. I don’t think we were particularly great in the first half. Part of that’s learning to deal with playoff soccer where everybody is battling for their lives and they’re going to put that extra effort in. I thought the second half response was much better.”
Now the focus turns to Sprayberry coming in next week. The Yellow Jackets represent Region 7 as the area’s No. 2 seed. The squad is ranked No. 5 in the state and No. 13 nationally, according to MaxPreps.
“Sprayberry’s had a fantastic season. They’re ranked Top 5 in the state right now. You’d imagine they’d be a handful for anybody,” Wallace said. “You know, you’re getting that Region 6 (Etowah), Region 7 winner. Those are two of the strongest regions in the state soccer-wise, so you know this next one, we’re going to have to be much better than we were tonight.”
Wallace said his crew is ahead of schedule when it comes to training for the playoff schedule because they were able to take a week during spring break to prepare for North Forsyth. Now, that’ll be a weekly occurrence as long as the Raiders keep winning.
As for motivation, the head coach said he doesn’t think there’s too much to say. The players either get up for the game and rise to the occasion or they’re looking at the end of the season. From here out, nothing will come easy.
“The reality is (the Sweet Sixteen) is where you’re going to see top teams. (The team) knows they’re going to have to bring it,” Wallace said. “That’s what you want. You want to show you can play with those guys.”
Game time for Friday’s game against Sprayberry has not yet been determined.
