Soccer: Buford girls, Chestatee boys take key 8-AAAA wins

GAINESVILLE -- As Mauricio Morales surveyed the surroundings, he knew it was his time.

The senior Chestatee defender did not disappoint himself. Morales blasted a shot past Buford's Sergio Sifuentes to give the War Eagles a 5-4 edge in penalty kicks and a 3-2 win over the Wolves Tuesday night in a key Region 8-AAAA battle for first place

"It was a moment I had always dreamed of. I was not going to miss," Morales said. "I just felt like it was my time to help the team win a game. It was a great feeling when it went in."

Morales's game-winner came just moments after senior keeper Miguel Calderon stopped his second shot in the penalty kick phase for the War Eagles.

"The first (stop) I knew where he was going. The second was just pure guessing," Calderon said. "The best guess I've ever had."

The win for Class AAAA No. 8 Chestatee (7-0, 4-0 Region 8-AAAA) moved the War Eagles into sole possession of first place in 8-AAAA, one-half game ahead Johnson (3-0 in region) and now one game ahead of Buford (3-4-1, 3-1).

"It's a huge win for us," Chestatee coach Mike Herrin said. "We still have a lot of games left, including against Johnson, so this is one we really needed. Miguel had a bunch of big saves throughout the game and the guys just hung with it."

The War Eagles were noticeably down after letting a two-goal lead with 29:14 left in the match slip away. Morales said when Buford's Miguel Burgos cleaned up a scramble with 1:09 left and slipped a shot under Calderon to tie the game at 2, he said there were some doubts.

"We did not play a good game, especially at the end," Morales said. "We were a little down because they had the momentum. But we didn't give up. We still have our best game in us out there somewhere."

Chestatee used its speed with long passes down the wings and up the middle to generate half-a-dozen solid scoring chances in the first half. The best early chance came in the opening minute when Jonathan Pedraza took a pass down the right sideline and only a finger-tip save by Sifuentes on a hard blast denied the War Egles a quick score.

Chestatee had another long pass create its first corner a minute later but again Sifuentes kept the game scoreless with a save. Chestatee had two more long passes down the wings midway through first half result in shots on goal but the Buford defense was able to adjust and deny any clear crosses.

The War Eagles defense was as good as its reputation coming into the match. They allowed just one corner and only two other scoring chances early on. Buford's Christian Salgado knifed his way through four Chestatee defenders inside the War Eagles box but could not get off a shot as the Chestatee defense eventually regained control of the ball.

The Wolves got a second corner attempt with 12 minutes left in the half but that resulted in a Chestatee breakout and an eventual shot by Arnold Gamez sailed wide right of the goal.

Buford countered on the ensuing possession with a long pass down the right side that ended with a crossing attempt. But Chestatee regained control on the cross and forced a quickly generated 4-on-3 attack down the middle with Pedraza blasting a 20-yard shot past Sifuentes for a 1-0 lead with 7:37 left in the first half.

The War Eagles kept up the pressure with three more shots in the next two minutes, including one by Pedraza that sailed just over the crossbar. The half would end with the War Eagles up 1-0.

Chestatee came out revved up in the second half creating three scoring chances in the opening seven minutes. Gamez was denied on a long blast off a direct kick and Austin Manzo got by the Buford defense for a breakaway moments later but was also denied on a diving stop by Sifuentes.

After a wild scramble in front, the War Eagles' Junior Nogueda chipped a shot off the crossbar. But four minutes later, Gamez would finally get rewarded.

Jaime Ortega lofted a long 30-yard cross off a free kick and Gamez timed it perfectly to deflect a 15-yard header past Sifuentes for a 2-0 lead with 29:14 left.

Buford would respond by picking up the offense pace. The Wolves generated two free kicks in the next four minutes but Calderon denied one point-blank-range shot on a diving stop and caught a low blast moments later to preserve the shutout for the moment.

The Wolves, however, finally broke through. After a long throw-in in front of the Chestatee goal, Salgado would blast a deflection past Calderon to cut the lead to 2-1 with 22:26 left in the match.

"We didn't clean that up and they made a great play," Herrin said.

The Wolves continued to put the pressure on with four more scoring chances. But Calderon was able to keep the War Eagles in front until Burgos tied the game.

"We kind of let up in the final couple of minutes and you can't do that against good teams," Herrin said. "Fortunately we battled back to get the win."

Both teams had chances in the first overtime but neither could find the net. In the second overtime Chestatee produced a corner try in the opening minute but could not get a clean shot at Sifuentes.

The Wolves countered in the next minute with a long pass in front of the goal with Calderon snatching a header out of the air for a save. Chestatee had one final flurry in the final 40 seconds with three crossing passes but also could not get a clear shot on goal.

Chestatee's defense was put to the test. The War Eagles came into the game having allowed just four goals all season before giving up two in the final 29 minutes.

BUFORD GIRLS 3
CHESTATEE 0

Buford (7-1, 4-0 Region 8-AAAA) took sole possession of first place in Area 8-AAAA with the win.

Chestatee (5-3, 3-1) did its best to slow down the high-powered Class AAAA sixth-ranked Lady Wolves but it was to no avail as Buford got two second half goals to break open a close game.

Buford continued its early dominance of area foes. The Lady Wolves have yet to give up a goal in area matches

The Lady War Eagles controlled the early part of the game but could not capitalize on some early scoring chances. Buford eventually got its offense going dominating the final 12 minutes of the first half.

After two corners and a 6-shot assault on Chestatee keeper Tyler Bennett, Buford junior Isabelle Grest lofted a beautiful 40-yard shot just over the outstretched hands of Bennett for a 1-0 lead with just 1:42 left in the first half.

Buford increased its lead to 2-0 midway through the second half on a goal by Elexa Bahr off an assist from Brie Smith with 21:27 left.

Bahr would seal the victory with her second goal of the half with 3:38 left in the match.

Kylie Buchanan and Peyton Woods also had assists for the Lady Wolves.

Next up for Buford will be Stephens County on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on Senior Night.

NOTES: The Buford girls have outscored their opposition 40-3 so far on the season. ... The Lady Wolves now have five shutouts on the season. ... The loss snapped Chestatee's 5-match winning streak. The Lady War Eagles had allowed just one goal during the streak.

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