GAINESVILLE — The Gainesville boys soccer team knows the test that lies in wait Tuesday. The Red Elephants know that few will give them even the slightest chance against top-ranked Dalton in the Class AAAAAA semifinals.
Gainesville also knows that it is playing impressive soccer right now, however, and that it will face the Catamounts at City Park -- a venue that has become a virtual fortress for the Red Elephants.
State quarterfinal foe Centennial discovered that fact the hard way on Saturday, as the Red Elephants dispatched the Knights 3-1 to claim their first "Final Four" berth since 2012, running their home record to 11-1 this season -- where they have outscored foes 38-8.
Cristian Rodriguez and Jovanei Santana each scored for third-ranked Gainesville, which also benefitted from an own-goal from fifth-ranked Centennial to help take a 2-0 halftime advantage that the Knights (16-5) only rarely threatened, as they spent much of their time chasing the Red Elephants (18-2) around a rain-soaked Bobby Gruhn Field.
"We played really well today, and I felt we had four-five really good chances even in the first half and deserved to win," Gainesville coach Elie Viviant said. "My guys were fighting for everything, and we really are peaking right now at the right time."
The Red Elephants can expect that to be tested to the utmost against a Catamounts team that has run roughshod through much of the season, including a 4-1 defeat of Cambridge in the quarterfinals. Yet Viviant says his squad is relishing the challenge after reaching its first semifinal since finishing as state runner-up in 2012.
"We have nothing to lose; everyone will expect them to win, but we're really good here at home," Viviant said. "People are surprised by our field, how big it is. It's a big deal for us to play at home."
Gainesville certainly appeared comfortable on home soil Saturday, charging forward from the start.
The Red Elephants' Derian Alarcon put a scare into the Knights almost directly from the kickoff, sprinting on to a through ball in the Centennial penalty area only to be denied by a charging Knights goalkeeper. Alarcon and Knights keeper Jacob Samnik tangled again seconds later, Samnik diving to stop a sliding shot from Alarcon -- but the Centennial sophomore suffered an injury in the ensuing collision and was helped from the field, prompting the Knights to insert back-up Eduin Garcia.
"I'm not sure how much of a difference that made for him, because the film we saw of them both of the keepers played one half each," Viviant said.
The Red Elephants took some time to test the substitute -- Centennial putting together its own attacking rhythm via striker Don Deedson Vixamar in response to the early Gainesville surge. But when the Red Elephants did get back on the front foot it was both impressive and decisive.
Earning a free kick 25 yards from the Knights goal, Rodriguez stepped up to whip an unstoppable 25-yard shot inside the far post. The arrowed strike yielded a 1-0 Red Elephants lead with 15:36 left in the half.
Gainesville was far from finished, however, and its continued pressure proved fruitful just over a minute later when Brandon Reyna chipped a ball toward the Knights penalty area, causing a mix-up between defender and keeper. Centennial's Henry Ladd reacted to the ball first, heading toward his own goal -- only to watch as the ball looped over a charging Garcia, who backpeddled furiously only to watch the ball drop into the Centennial net for a 2-0 Gainesville advantage with 14:24 left in the half.
The Red Elephants so nearly made it 3-0 at the half, as Santana blasted a 22-yard free kick off the Centennial goal post 5 minutes before the interval. Yet the Knights also missed a golden scoring opportunity two minutes later, as Vixamar reacted first to a loose ball in the Red Elephants penalty area. But the striker volleyed straight into the welcoming arms of Gainesville goalkeeper Augustin Garcia, as the Red Elephants maintained their 2-0 advantage into the second half.
Gainesville maintained its offensive pressure after the restart, peppering the Centennial goal without much success -- until Pedro Santos and Santana combined for a moment of magic. Santos chipped an inch-perfect through pass for the onrushing Vasquez, who kept his footing under pressure from two defenders and volleyed a point-blank shot into the net for a 3-0 lead with 20:28 left to play.
What looked a game-clinching lead lasted all of two minutes, however, as the Knights fashioned their first clear shot on goal of the half and scored. Vixamar applied the final touch, leaping in front of the Red Elephants defense to head home a free kick with 18:21 remaining.
The goal touched off a heated finish, as the two foes battled for every loose ball -- sometimes a little too hard, as Gainesville's Vasquez and Centennial's Osvaldo Cabrales were both ejected with straight red cards after an altercation off the ball. Each team losing a player simply opened up more room for each team in attack, and the two sprinted end-to-end under increasingly heavy rains.
The Red Elephants survived another free kick scare from the Knights with seven minutes remaining, heading a goal-bound shot off the under-side of their own crossbar and then blocking the rebound effort from Vixamar.
"We're pretty solid at the back, and now everyone is healthy, and you saw that on the field today," Viviant said. "We played awesome today."
And now the Red Elephants will go in search of, at least, one more awesome performance when they play host to Dalton at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Park.
