GAINESVILLE — It almost seemed a fitting end.
The Gainesville and Johnson boys soccer teams closed out their 2019 regular seasons Thursday night at City Park Stadium with a 1-1 draw. While neither left with the so-called ‘Hall County Championship’ in hand, it kept a now interesting eight-year run in the rivalry intact.
The teams are 3-3-2 and have scored the same amount of goals (13) in that span. But what the fans got was a quick, athletic display of two of the state’s best on both ends of the pitch.
“Both teams played like two of the best teams in the state,” Gainesville coach Eli Viviant said. “The defenses played very well. We both had some chances to score but couldn’t get another one.”
Class 5A No. 4 Johnson struck first. After the teams traded a series of turnovers at midfield, the Knights got the break they were looking for as Rudy Orosco got loose on the right side and chipped a shot past Gainesville keeper Eduardo Bautista for a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.
Class 6A No. 3 Gainesville then stepped up its attack with Pedro Santos tying the match with just 45 seconds left in the first half on a shot into the upper corner past a diving Cooper Bowen.
In the second half, both teams generated several opportunities but none found the net as Bautista and Bowen denied every attempt.
Johnson coach Brian Shirley said it was the kind of match he anticipated.
“We knew it would be back-and-forth. The defenses were really good but both teams created some chances,” he said. “Both teams probably should have had one more.”
It’s the first time the two teams have closed out the season with their annual showdown. The teams agreed before the match that they would not play an overtime or penalty kick phase in the event of a tie in an effort to be fresh and healthy for next week’s first round of the GHSA playoffs.
And both Viviant and Shirley said they are more than ready to get started and are hitting their strides. The Knights are looking to defend their 2018 state title.
“I think we’re playing well at the right time,” Viviant said. “This is a good playoff-type game to get you ready for the playoffs. We’re going to take a few days off but we’re ready to go.”
“Our defense has been our rock all season and we’re still jelling as a team overall,” Shirley said. “We’re playing well right now. I hope we’re starting to peak at the right time. Class 5A is wide-open and we hope to be in the mix again this year.”
In the first half, both defenses presented formidable walls most of the way and both teams used that to try and counter.
Johnson got the first chance in the 5th minute when a shot by Cole Bowen was deflected giving the Knights the first corner of the match. But no shots were generated as Gainesville cleared a crossing attempt.
The Knights had a great sequence in the 20th minute as Juan Carlos Gomez and Diego Chavez clamped down on Santos to get a steal. Chavez began a run then gave off to Jose Gomez, over to Cole Bowen, then to Jonathan Miralrio, who just missed a blast wide left.
Gainesville’s first real chance came in the 23rd minute with a direct kick from 25 yards by Santos. But Bowen denied the attempt.
In the second half, Johnson had several early chances to break the tie. Cole Bowen nearly untied it two minutes in with a 35-yard blast of a direct kick but it sailed left. In the 50th minute, Junior Arellano missed high on another direct kick.
The Red Elephants thought they had the tiebreaker in the 54th minute when Armando Hernandez got a break and long run down the middle to get a one-on-one with Bowen 15 yards from the goal. But Bowen snagged Hernandez's chip shot over his head out of the air. Hernandez had two more chances over the next two minutes but one sailed high and another was blocked by Chavez.
One minute later Arellano and Christian Maldonado created a nifty give-and-go for Johnson but Arellano’s header just missed to the right.
Neither team was able to generate any real scoring threats the rest of the way. Johnson, however, got one last crack in the final 10 seconds but Cole Bowen’s direct kick from nearly 40 yards was snared by Bautista just before the final horn.
GAINESVILLE GIRLS 4,
JOHNSON 0
Keeper Marlyn Blanco and the Lady Red Elephants defense stymied the Johnson offense the entire match in their season finale.
Gainesville (9-8) got a pair of first-half goals and put the match away with two more in the second. Cindy Bonilla had two goals and Amayia Lukie and McKenna Filson had one goal each.
The Lady Red Elephants finished the season strong winning five of their last six games. However, they did not qualify for the playoffs in a tough Region 8-6A.
Johnson (8-8) had won five of their last seven before Thursday’s shutout loss. The Lady Knights, however, will be back in action next week playing host to Clarkson in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
