DOBSON — Surry Central gutted out a 3-0 win over East Rutherford to advance in the soccer 2A State Playoffs.
One goal from Jacob Edmonds and two from Eli Gonzalez lifted the No. 12-ranked Golden Eagles over the visiting Cavaliers, seeded No. 21 in the 2A West. The win puts Surry Central at 16-3-1 on the season as they move on to the second round.
“It honestly feels surreal,” said Surry Central coach Adan Garcia. “This is only my fourth playoff match – and third playoff win – so it just feels really awesome.”
Coach Garcia has the Eagles back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. Central finished third in the Western Piedmont 2A Conference last season, but missed out on playoffs. Fewer teams were allowed in the postseason due to COVID-19.
Surry Central rebounded this season and finished second in the Foothills 2A Conference. The Eagles recorded 15 shutouts during the regular season and picked up No. 16 against the Cavaliers (11-7).
“We had a couple errors in there and kept them in the game for a little bit,” Coach Garcia said. “Then we punished them on their errors. The team did their job and we pulled out a win.”
Before running away with the win in the second half, Surry Central and East Rutherford were neck-and-neck for much of the first half.
Strong midfield play from the Eagles gave Central the edge in possession early on. Jordy Avila played sideline-to-sideline distributing balls to Chris Nava and Daniel Juarez. Both Nava and Juarez had shots in the opening minutes of the match but failed to put them on target.
Gonzalez had the Golden Eagles’ first shot on frame. In the 12th minute, Gonzalez took a quick free kick from 30 yards out that was saved by East keeper Austin Webb.
Gonzalez had another free kick from a similar distance in the 17th minute of play. This free kick was awarded to the Eagles after Roderick Edmundson committed a foul and was given a yellow card. He floated the kick into the 18-yard box where it was headed by Juarez. Juarez’s shot sailed wide of the mark, but it was tipped by a Cavalier player and led to a corner kick.
Nava took the corner and it was chased down and headed into the back of the net by Edmonds. The Golden Eagles led 1-0 with 22 minutes left in the first half.
The Cavaliers nearly tied the match less than a minute after Edmonds’ goal. East Rutherford sent a free kick inside Central’s box and the Eagles were called for a hand ball. East’s Sergio Merida shot over the crossbar to keep the Central lead alive.
The Golden Eagles out-shot the Cavs 7-4 in the first half as the score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes.
Surry Central jumped right on East Rutherford in the second half, with Nava putting a shot on goal withing 27 seconds of the start of the half. Central’s push on offense led to a free kick just outside the 18. Gonzalez placed the free kick to the far side of the net to make it 2-0.
Gonzalez’s goal came just 1:14 into the second half.
Central didn’t let up after its second goal. Luke Creed fired three shots at the East keeper in the first 10 minutes of the half: one sailed wide, one was caught by the keeper and the other was blocked out for a corner kick.
The Eagles stayed pressed up for most of the second half. At points, Gonzalez was the only defender – other than goal keeper Johnny Garcia – on the defensive half of the field. Surry Central took 10 shots in the second half while holding East to one, which Coach Garcia credits to everyone doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
“Literally right before we walked down here we were watching some film, and I said ‘Stick to your assignments. Stick to your positions. Stick to what we’ve been training all year,’” Coach Garcia said. “This is why we played those tough teams in the beginning of the season. We got a couple losses out of it, but it was for games like this so we know what it’s like to be in a tight match. It really helped us thrive during crunch time.”
Central solidified its lead when Gonzalez nailed a 30-yard free kick with 10 minutes left in regulation. Less than 60 seconds later, an East Rutherford player was given a straight-red card and the Cavs played the last few minutes with 10 men.
Surry Central moves on and will face a familiar foe, North Forsyth, in the second round. North Forsyth (13-2) was a member of the WPAC with Surry Central for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and the teams have played at least once each season since 2012.
No. 5 North Forsyth defeated No. 28 Wheatmore 6-1 in the opening round of the playoffs.
“The guys, they’re up on cloud nine right now. A lot of them have never even been in a playoff match,” Coach Garcia said. “We’ll celebrate this win, but then tomorrow we’ll get their mindsets back where it should be.”
Central travels to North Forsyth on Wednesday for a 6:00 kickoff.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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