GAINESVILLE -- If the opening round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs is any indication, the fourth-ranked Gainesville boys soccer team will have to earn everything it gets.
The Red Elephants erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with two goals in a 15-minute span in the second half and then held off a late flurry to pull out a nail-biting 2-1 victory over Cambridge Wednesday night at City Park Stadium.
Region 8-AAAAA top-seeded Gainesville (14-3) moves on to play host to Greenbrier, a 6-0 winner over LaGrange Wednesday, in the second round of the playoffs next Wednesday. (NOTE: Also winning on Tuesday were the Johnson boys and Habersham Central boys, while Buford's, Chestatee's and Flowery Branch's boys each fell in first round matches Tuesday.)
Gainesville coach Rick Howard knew before the playoffs began they faced a brutal bracket, which has No. 3 Greenbrier potentially in the second round and a then a quarterfinal showdown with perennial power and defending Class AAAAA champ McIntosh looming after that -- if they make it that far.
“We knew it was going to be tough. We have a very tough draw but all we can do is just take them one at a time,” Howard said. “There will be nothing easy for us no matter how far we go.”
The pesky Region 7-AAAAA fourth-seeded Bears (11-6-1) offered Gainesville a quick test that could prove beneficial in the long run for the Red Elephants.
“They are not your typical No. 4 seed,” Howard said. “It was good for us to be tested like this in the first round. It was everything we expected from them.”
Both teams came out aggressive to open the game. Gainesville keeper Sergio Mondragon almost gave the Bears the quick momentum they wanted leaving the goal open trying to corral an errant pass but a deflection off a Bears attacker trickled over the end line for a goal kick in the second minute.
The Red Elephants went on the attack off that goal kick with Omar Perez capping a series of crisp passing with a 20-yard blast that sailed just wide of the Cambridge goal in the fifth minute.
The Bears countered that moments later with a long goal kick that resulted in a scramble in front of the Gainesville goal and John Shayne blasting a 10-yard shot off the left post in the eighth minute.
The Gainesville offense went on the attack over the next 10 minutes generating seven scoring chances. Diego Porras had two chances within a minute, with the first one looking like a sure goal until Bears’ keeper Zach Evans made a finger-tip save to keep it scoreless in the 10th minute. Evans stopped a second shot by Porras one minute later.
Christian Ochoa nearly gave the Red Elephants the lead in the 18th minute but again Evans made the save. That ignited a quick Cambridge run that finished with Shayne just missing again on a spinning shot that resulted in the first corner of the game.
The Bears did not waste the chance. After a looping pass, the ball ricocheted off several Red Elephant defenders with Zach Midula blasting it past a diving Mondragon for a 1-0 lead with 20:41 left in the first half.
It continued to be a frustrating half for the Red Elephants, who sent wave after wave of attackers but could not find the back of the net.
Estaban Bautista slid a shot just wide left at 18:02 and Porras had another chance two minutes later but could not get a clean shot off within 10 yards with the keeper out of position.
After a nice feed from Cesar Salcido, Erik Bonilla blasted a 15-yard shot that sailed just high of the goal with 13:31 left. Salcido missed his own 20-yard blast just high at 12:42 and Porras missed on a 30-yard blast with just over 10 minutes left.
Gainesville’s last best chance of the half came with Christian Rodriquez floating a beautiful crossing pass that sailed just out of reach of two attackers with 1:20 left and the half ended with Cambridge holding a 1-0 lead.
Howard said after the Cambridge goal they changed their offensive plan.
“We were playing in front of them too much so we tried to get behind them more with some passes,” he said. “I thought we did an excellent job from about the 15-minute spot in the first half all the way through the second half.”
Much like the beginning of the game, the second half started fast with Cambridge generating a corner in the second minute but not able to get a shot. Gainesville countered that with a nice run down the right side by Salcido that created a corner in the 3rd minute.
It paid off for the Red Elephants as Bonilla tied the game at 1-1, heading in a bouncing ball off the corner kick with 36:52 left.
“That was huge because the hardest goal to get is the equalizer,” Howard said. “The kids never quit and just kept on the attack.”
But moments later they suffered a blow as Porras was carried off the field with 34:00 left with a lower leg injury. He did not return.
“I don’t know how bad it is right now. We’ll have him evaluated (Thursday) and see where things are,” Howard said.
Despite the setback, the Red Elephants continued to push the attack. It would result in a free kick by Ochoa. Evans stopped Ochoa’s blast from 20 yards out but Salcido ripped the rebound past a diving Evans with 22:40 left to give Gainesville a 2-1 lead.
“It was just there and I made sure I got something on it and it went in,” Salcido said. “I think our confidence really went up after that.”
Often the best defense can be a good offense and Gainesville did not play back. The Red Elephants continued to press the attack keeping possession of the ball for most of the next 12 minutes in the Cambridge zone.
The Bears did not get another shot off until 8:35 was left. But they went on a late charge in the final minutes. Gainesville's Chandler Staton -- who came in to play keeper in the second half -- denied a shot on a bouncing pass with just over three minutes left and saved the game from overtime with a diving stop on a Cambridge breakaway with 2:06 left.
The Bears did not get another shot off the final 2:06 as the teams battled for possession at midfield the rest of the way.
NOTES: It was the 11th straight win for Gainesville. ... The Red Elephants have outscored opponents 48-5 in that span and have not allowed more than 1 goal in any of the matches with six shutouts. ... The Bears may have had the toughest finish in AAAAA. They lost their final two regular season matches to No. 1 Dalton (4-1), to No. 10 Sequoyah (3-2) and then took on No. 4 Gainesville in the first round of the playoffs.
