GAINESVILLE — The 2022 Johnson boys soccer team was able to do something no team in more than a dozen years had been able to accomplish in the annual Johnson-Gainesville showdown.
The Knights got a hat trick from Ramon Aguilar and knocked off the Red Elephants 3-0 Friday night at City Park Stadium.
The lopsided score is the first time since at least 2007 the rivalry match was not decided by one goal or in penalty kicks. It also was the first win for the Knights since 2017 despite now owning a 4-3-2 record over the Red Elephants since 2013.
“We had a game plan and the guys played hard and we got a couple of balls to bounce our way,” Johnson coach Frank Zamora said. “This is a special win for us. Ramon is a solid player and any opportunity he gets he is going to try and put it in the back of the net. He’s hungry.”
Johnson (2-0) limited Gainesville (1-1) to less than five quality shots on goal for the game.
“Defensively, led by Landon Avalos, Jeffrey Castillo, Rudy Granados, and Andres Galicia, I thought we were very good,” Zamora said.
Aguilar, a junior, scored once in the first half and twice in a 16-minute span in the second half, the final one coming off a beautiful feed from Jorge Sandoval with just 9 minutes left.
“It’s just an amazing feeling (to get a hat trick against Gainesville),” Aguilar said. “I feel this team has a shot to go pretty far this year.”
But both defenses were tough to crack in the first half. The counter-punching offenses managed just one shot each and just one corner each in the opening 30 minutes.
Johnson had a corner try in the 4th minute and two other early opportunities just outside the box but all three were denied without a shot.
Gainesville’s best chances early came with a corner in the 8th minute and a nice ball deep into Johnson territory in the 11th minute but neither produced a shot. The Red Elephants' first real shot came in the 25th minute on a direct kick from Noe Vazquez, but his shot was denied by Johnson keeper Kristian Hernandez.
In the final 8 minutes of the half, both offenses finally started to find some traction. Johnson created a corner in the 32nd minute but the Red Elephants’ Gabriel Ixcoy Calel intercepted a pass and advanced deep into Johnson territory, which ended with another Vasquez direct kick that was stopped by Hernandez.
Two minutes later a Sandoval shot for Johnson from just outside the box sailed high. The Knights, however, struck first a minute later.
Aguilar settled a bouncing ball off a corner pass and scored in the low right corner past diving Gainesville keeper Josthin Arellano for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute and it went to the half that way.
The Red Elephants came out strong to open the second half getting a pair of direct kicks from within 25 yards in the first 13 minutes but could not find the equalizer.
Johnson again got the big break when Aguilar was fouled inside the Gainesville box with just under 25 minutes left. He beat Arellano in the low right corner again for a 2-0 Knights lead.
Johnson finished the scoring when Sandoval used a wicked spin move to get past two Red Elephants defenders at midfield and streak down the middle before finding Aguilar on the left side, who buried the shot past Arellano for the hat trick.
Gainesville had a couple of late chances but again could not find the net.
Johnson will hit the road again on Tuesday traveling to Lanier.
Gainesville will be back at City Park on Tuesday taking on Habersham Central.
JOHNSON GIRLS 4,
GAINESVILLE 0
The Lady Knights (2-0) scored twice in each half to win their annual showdown with the Lady Red Elephants (0-1-1).
Johnson (2-0) got two goals each from Arithzi Vargas and Madison Booker.
Vargas and Booker scored one goal each in the first half and it stayed that way until late in the contest.
The pair struck again in the final 12 minutes to blow it open.
Gainesville had chances in each half but could not find the net.
