RABBITTOWN — The East Hall boys soccer team continued its mesmerizing dance with history on Tuesday.
And now the Vikings have one huge date remaining.
East Hall stormed past Savannah Arts Academy 5-1 in the Class AAA semifinals in Rabbittown, clinching the program's first ever state championship game appearance.
After a season full of firsts -- including their first region crown -- the Vikings will head to Macon with plenty of momentum on their side when they take on Decatur at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Five Star Stadium on the campus of Mercer University.
"I want to win it all," East Hall senior Leo Toledo said. "I want to go ahead and play already."
After Tuesday's performance, there's little wonder why. The East Hall striker blitzed Savannah for four goals, including three in the second half, as he helped put the visitors out of contention.
"He's a special player," East Hall coach Chris Horton said. "He works so hard and he gets after the ball and puts it in the net. Everybody on the team played well tonight though. We were able to empty the bench, and when you can do that in a state semifinal that's pretty special."
Toledo and Sergio Turcios combined to give the Vikings (21-1) a 2-0 first half lead -- only to watch the Panthers (16-4-1) fight back to within 2-1. But there was no stopping Toledo, whose speed and skill had Savannah chasing shadows, while Turcios, Carlos Castrejon and Maury Ibarra also took turns pulling the Panthers' defense apart. Meanwhile, the East defense largely kept Savannah at bay -- though the Panthers did make things interesting early in the second half. But East Hall was not about to let the opportunity slip.
"We had some nerves there early, but we settled in and stuck with the game plan," Horton said.
The Vikings were up for the challenge from the start, Toledo sprinting through the Panthers defense on to through balls from midfield. The senior striker saw two golden opportunities miss the target, shooting over less than two minutes after kickoff and then firing wide seconds later.
Savannah did not heed the alarm bells, however, and Toledo made the visitors pay moments later.
Seconds after Bryan Galvez slid to deny Panthers striker Noah Prince in front of the Vikings' goal it was East Hall that found the back of the net courtesy Toledo and Carlos Castrejon -- who rolled a perfectly-weighted pass through the Savannah backline for Toledo.
The senior sprinted past two defenders and slotted a 10-yard shot into the goal for a 1-0 lead with 31:13 left in the first half.
The strike looked like it might open the floodgates for the Vikings, who nearly doubled their lead when Turcios broke into the Panthers' penalty area and ripped a shot. But goalkeeper Jason Paquette pinned the ball to the post to keep Savannah within a goal.
The Panthers took advantage of the let off and began to play their way into the contest midway through the half. Benjamin Jones proved a handful in midfield, using his size and skill to keep the Vikings from committing its entire midfield to the attack, and the senior saw one close range volley saved before heading the ensuing corner kick off the crossbar.
The Vikings were in no mood to let the Panthers back in, however, and Turcios provided the hosts with a two-goal cushion just before halftime.
In similar fashion to the save he forced early on, Turcios made the most of his speed to sprint on to a loose ball in the Savannah penalty area. This time, however, he lashed his first-touch shot past the near post for a 2-0 advantage with 3:00 left in the half.
The lead proved short-lived.
Jones and Prince combined just 2:26 into the second half to score and pull the visitors within 2-1 -- Jones winning possession and playing Prince in perfectly to score from close range.
After watching Blessed Trinity storm back in the second half of last week's quarterfinal contest, however, the Vikings showed that they had learned their lessons in the 4-3 win and immediately began to put the semifinal out of reach.
Once again it was Toledo leading the way.
The striker produced an impressive combination of speed and skill to make it 3-1, out-running two defenders to a long ball from the defense. He then dropped his shoulder to deceive a third before slotting a 15-yard shot past Paquette with 27:11 remaining.
Just over two minutes later Toledo bagged his hat trick with the aid of a deflection, his low, driven free kick glancing off a defender and wrong-footing Paquette for a 4-1 lead.
His fourth and final strike came with just 12:36 remaining and again followed a long chase that saw him beating defenders and keeper. The strike allowed East Hall to empty its bench and start looking toward Thursday's finale.
"I'm excited, but we've been focused on doing this all season," Horton said. "Now we have to see if we can bring that same intensity on Thursday."
-- NOTE: Toledo will be playing on hte campus of the school he has committed to play for on Thursday, as he will go on to play for the Mercer Bears.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/5/398221/boys-soccer-vikings-make-history-but-have-more-on-mind-after-semifinal-win