OAKWOOD, Ga. — If things were measured on time of possession, Johnson’s second-round matchup with Holy Innocents Thursday night at The Dungeon would have been declared a blowout instead of the closer-than-it-appears 2-0 victory.
The Knights held the ball nearly 90 percent of the time and outshot HEI 26-2 for the game. HEI crossed midfield with possession, not counting long direct kicks, only five times in the entire game. Credit Golden Bears’ keeper Preston Cate for keeping them within striking distance.
“That guy played a lot better than he looked on film,” Johnson senior Ramon Aguilar said. “He made some ridiculous saves. We should have had three or four more, I thought.”
“Their keeper made some unbelievable, amazing saves and kept it a lot closer than it should have been,” Johnson coach Frank Zamora said. “But when you get to this point in the season, anything can be expected.
A first-half goal by freshman Josue Mendoza and a second-half goal by Aguilar was all the scoring the Knights got and needed, as the defense once again was on lockdown mode.
It was the sixth consecutive shutout and 14th of the season for Johnson. Senior Landon Avalos, junior Andres Galacia, sophomore Miguel Duran, and Mendoza have been the foundation of a unit that has yielded just four goals on the season.
“Our defense is crazy (good), with guys like Landon and Miguel and the whole group,” Aguilar said afterward.
The win for the No. 1-ranked Knights (18-0) moves them into their fifth consecutive Elite 8 round. They will play host to Whitewater, which knocked off Region 2-4A champion Perry on Thursday.
Zamora was more than thrilled to know they will get at least one match in The Dungeon.
“We have the best fans in the state,” he said. “They give us a lot of energy. We love playing in front of them, and we’ll need everything they can give us.”
Almost from the opening kickoff, Johnson dominated the time of possession, controlling virtually the entire first 25 minutes. Holy Innocents’ (HEI) only crossed midfield with possession once, resulting in the Golden Bears’ only shot of the first half, a 35-yard blast that sailed wide right.
Before and after, it was all Knights. Johnson generated over a dozen shots (13) in the first half.
Edgar Vazquez had two long blasts, and Alex Gonzalez had another that Cate was able to stop. A beautiful set play off a direct kick had Cate out of position on another chance, but Aguilar’s chip shot off a beautiful feed from Andres Galacia sailed just wide.
The Knights finally cashed in on their seventh shot of the opening 24 minutes. Galaicia connected with Mendoza on a nice cross from the corner, with Mendoza heading it in past a diving Cate for a 1-0 lead with 16:01 left in the half.
Johnson attackers were able to get shots off three times on corners over the next 10 minutes, but each time they sailed high or wide. Cate denied two golden chances inside the box over the final five minutes as HEI was able to keep it close as they went to the half.
After Cate denied Jorge Sandoval in the 44th minute, the Knights got the cushion they wanted when Vazquez, after a beautiful serpentine move through the defense inside the box, found Ramon Aguilar in front of the net for an easy chip goal past Cate for a 2-0 lead with 32:32 left in the match.
HEI looked to have trimmed the lead in half 10 minutes later on a beautiful direct kick set play that resulted in a goal. It would have been the first allowed by the Knights in six games. But the play was called offsides to keep the shutout intact.
HEI had just one more real chance but could not get a shot off after a long ball into the box.
