RABBITTOWN — No. 1 East Hall answered a crucial question Friday night in its Class AAA quarterfinal showdown with No. 2 Blessed Trinity.
Could the Vikings, built for speed and finesse, withstand the brutal physicality of the traditional powers in Class AAA in their quest for a first-ever soccer state title?
Definitely.
Senior Leo Toledo recorded a first half hat trick and then helped the defense weather wave after wave of attacks from the Titans to pull out a heart-stopping 4-3 victory at East Hall Stadium.
The win put East Hall (20-1) into the semifinals for the first time since 2013. The Vikings will take on the Savannah Arts Academy, a 4-1 winner over Calhoun in the other quarterfinal, on Tuesday. East Hall won a coin flip following the game and will be the home team. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Valhalla.
“We knew it would be a tough game but we know defense wins games,” defender Giezi Barrientos said. “We put a lot of effort in on defense. It feels great to make to the Final Four.”
Barrientos and Bryan Galvez anchored the defense in the first half while Toledo and the offense were able to exploit the Titans defense in the opening 10 minutes. Galvez was instrumental in helping the Vikings grab the lead early stealing a Blessed Trinity pass and then finding a streaking Toledo, who beat two defenders and keeper Robbie Riely to give East Hall a 1-0 lead less than eight minutes in.
Three minutes later Sergio Turcios executed a perfect lofting pass that Toledo gathered and then chipped a beautiful shot over Riely for a 2-0 lead with 29:24 left.
“Our gameplan was to try and get a quick goal to open things up and we were able to get two,” Vikings coach Chris Horton said. “That was huge for us.”
The East Hall defense was stout the entire first half. The Vikings did not allow a shot on goal in the first 40 minutes.
Blessed Trinity (13-6-1) got its first direct kick in the sixth minute but the Vikings defense denied the shot as two players blocked the attempt. The Titans also did not get a corner in the first half.
East Hall continued to push the ball and was rewarded with just over four minutes left when Turcios found Toledo for a header on a direct kick for a 3-0 lead that would stand until halftime.
Despite the big deficit, the Titans came out energized to start the second half behind Trei Ellis Schwartz. The lanky, speedy senior pushed the ball relentlessly and helped the Titans produce two corners in the opening minutes.
Barrientos and the defense helped keeper Amir Solis keep the shutout in tact deflecting several attempts from close range. But, after gathering a long pass, the Titans’ Ben Drabik chipped a nice shot over Solis to cut lead to 3-1 with 26:17 left
The Blessed Trinity defense also took Toledo out of the offense giving up only three minor touches in the first 18 minutes of the second half. Toledo’s three first half goals came in his first five touches.
Blessed Trinity kept the pressure on over the next 12 minutes and the East Hall defense bent but did not break. But, the Titans got the benefit of a controversial call just outside the East Hall box with just over 13 minutes left and Schwartz looped a 20-yard direct kick past Solis to trim the lead to 3-2.
"That direct kick should not have happened," said Toledo, who argued the call and was almost awarded a yellow card. "(Schwartz) made a great shot but we didn't get down."
Toledo found a way to answer two minutes later. Toledo serpentined with a long 30-yard run into the box, then found Diego Ramirez uncovered within 5-yards who buried a wide-open shot into the net for a 4-2 advantage with 10:59 left. The two-goal advantage was short-lived.
Schwartz wasted little time -- in fact just 9 seconds -- answering that goal blasting the ensuing kickoff from midfield toward the East Hall goal that Solis mishandled and it trickled into the net to trim the lead to 4-3 with 10:50 left.
“We made some mistakes to let them get back into it but we did a great job at the end,” Horton said.
Blessed Trinity continued on the attack looking for the equalizer while the East Hall defense counter-punched over the next nine minutes. Solis made two shaky saves and the Titans had three more corner attempts but Toledo would seal the game corralling a kick by the Vikings defense at midfield and making a deep run into Titans territory inside the final minute.
The run eventually led to a corner and the Vikings were able to dribble out the clock to preserve the win.
It was a moment that was not lost on Toledo, who signed to play at Mercer next season. He was also a freshman on the 2013 team that advanced to the semifinals.
“It feels great to back to the Final Four,” Toledo said. “It was a team effort. We were able to play through a couple of mistakes.
“This puts us one step closer to playing in Macon and a title. It would be great to get a chance to play in front of my next coach.”
NOTES: Blessed Trinity had not allowed a goal in the playoffs until Friday night. In fact, they gave up two on the Vikings first four shots. ... East Hall had outscored its first two playoff opponents 19-1. ... The Vikings have now won 12 straight and have allowed just 10 goals with 6 shutouts in that span, and given up 1 goal or fewer in 10 of them. ... The coin flip could be a factor in the semifinals. The Vikings are 8-1 at home, with their only loss to Class AAAA No. 1 Johnson, who also advanced to the semifinals in Class AAAA.
