OAKWOOD -- The West Hall boys soccer team wanted to make a statement in Tuesday's showdown with North Hall.
Instead of a statement it was more like a primal scream.
The Spartans mauled their fellow top 10 and Region 7-AAA foe in Oakwood, pulling away from an early 1-1 scoreline with six straight strikes in a 7-2 victory that vaulted the Spartans into a tie for first place in 7-AAA.
"This was a season-defining game for us, a make or break... and luckily we made it," West Hall coach Andrew McCain said. "I'm really proud of our guys. Once we start putting goals in we gain a momentum that's hard to stop."
The third-ranked Spartans (13-2, 5-1 Region 7-AAA) poured on three goals over an 11-minute span in the first half to take control of the game and continued to pull away thanks to three more goals from senior Edwin Mendieta.
The midfielder bagged a hat-trick on his mother's birthday, including two impressive second-half strikes that sealed North Hall's first 7-AAA defeat of the campaign and set up a three-way tie with Dawson County for the league's No. 1 state playoff seed.
"I got two for my mom and one for my girl," Mendieta smiled. "It felt great tonight. The whole team played well together, and I couldn't have done that without them."
The Spartans signaled their intentions from the start, storming to a 1-0 lead after just seven minutes. Pedro Perez tapped a bouncing ball past a Trojans defender and smacked a 12-yard shot into the net with 33:00 left in the half.
The seventh-ranked Trojans (8-3-2, 5-1) battled back, however, as Jake Stephens and Tyler Shows combined to knot the score at 1-1 -- Shows chipping a free kick into the West Hall penalty area that Stephens headed home from six yards with 31:57 left in the half.
It was hardly a sign of things to come, however.
West Hall stormed back into the lead, Cesar Villa beating North Hall goalkeeper Abraham Elias to a long pass and slotting the ensuing shot into an open goal with 29:12 left before the interval.
Seven minutes later, the Spartans again found the back of the net, Samuel Coto sprinting on to a rebound and slotting home after Elias produced an impressive dive to deny a low, driven shot from Jonathan Corona. Coto's putback made it 3-1 and began to stamp the Spartans authority on the contest.
"Tonight we knew how to approach things," McCain said. "We started out wanting to emphasize offense, then we changed things up after scoring early, and that worked for us. We're trying to be more unpredictable and show some different things."
The Trojans continued to fight, however, and North Hall striker Zach Tibbs forced a brave save from West Hall's Frankie Vasquez after the goalkeeper charged out to smother a point-blank shot from the charging attacker with 14 minutes left in the half.
The Spartans weren't interested in a shootout, however, and West Hall made another scoring opportunity count with just five minutes remaining. This time the Spartans earned a penalty kick after Elias collided with a West Hall attacker and earned a yellow card for the foul. Mendieta stepped forward to convert the ensuing spot kick, yielding an imposing 4-1 halftime advantage.
West Hall continued to press after the interval and were rewarded with 25:31 remaining, when Mendieta struck again. This time the senior midfielder awed the home crowd with a dipping 20-yard volley that gave Elias no chance and gave the Spartans a 5-1 lead.
The senior completed his hat trick with 13:37 left to play, ripping a close-range shot into the net for a 6-1 lead. Isaac Castruita added another goal with 6:58 remaining on a 25-yard effort that smacked off the post and into the net.
North Hall did pull one goal back with five seconds on the clock, Junior Avalos scoring on a 27-yard free kick, but it wasn't near enough to derail the Spartans, who have just one region contest left on the schedule.
West Hall will wrap regular season play next Tuesday when it plays host to Banks County. In the meantime, West Hall must wait and watch to see how the race for the No. 1 seed plays out, as North Hall and Dawson County are set to battle on April 24 -- two days after the Tigers face Buford.
North Hall will first look to bounce back against Madison County on Friday in Gainesville.
WEST HALL GIRLS 2,
NORTH HALL 1
The West Hall girls soccer team kept its postseason hopes alive on Tuesday courtesy a 2-1 defeat of North Hall in Oakwood.
The Lady Spartans (6-6-1, 3-3 Region 7-AAA) scored twice in the second half and fended off a furious rally from the Lady Trojans (7-6-2, 3-3) to move into a tie with North Hall for the fourth and final playoff spot in 7-AAA.
After a tense and hard-fought first half that featured a stalemate in midfield, the West Hall girls found the breakthrough both teams sought just minutes into the restart.
The Lady Spartans used a set piece to create the opportunity, dropping a corner kick into the North Hall penalty area that yielded a moment of chaos that included two point-blank West Hall shots blocked on the goal line. But the Lady Trojans failed to clear the danger, and the ball rolled perfectly for Alyssa Hall, who blasted a 10 yard shot into the net for a 1-0 lead with 37:07 left to play.
The strike proved just the start of a decisive second half, and West Hall looked set to pull away with the contest just four minutes later, as Katie Forrester and Katie Kirkland combined to put the Lady Spartans ahead 2-0.
Kirkland crossed perfectly for Forrester, who found herself unmarked 13 yards from goal, and the attacker made no mistake, ripping a shot past a stranded goalkeeper with 33:30 left in the contest.
North Hall was far from finished, however, and Olivia Smith came close to responding with 30 minutes remaining, when her curled, 20-yard free kick smacked off the underside of the West Hall crossbar only to bounce away from the goalmouth.
The Lady Spartans didn't rest on their advantage either, and West Hall nearly made it 3-0 with five minutes remaining when Diana Perez beat Lady Trojans goalkeeper to a loose ball -- only to watch her shot at a wide-open goal blocked by a charging defender.
North Hall ensured a frenzied finish, as Alex Lawson finally put the Lady Trojans on the scoreboard with 4:04 left to play, taking a pass from Katie Estrada before firing home from 17 yards to halve West Hall's lead.
Lawson also forced a save from West Hall's Kylie Beaman inside the final minute -- the Lady Spartans keeper smothering the effort to seal the victory.
West Hall will look to end its regular season on a high note next Tuesday, when the Lady Spartans play host to Banks County.
North Hall, meanwhile, will look to bounce back against Madison County on Friday in Gainesville.
Friday
May 9th, 2025
8:22PM
