OAKWOOD — Class AAA No. 3 East Hall came in averaging five goals a match. Class AAAAA No. 4 Johnson had allowed just four goals all season.
And the Knights exited Wednesday's showdown with the Vikings with their defensive number unchanged courtesy a 2-0 win in Oakwood.
East Hall's speedy counter-attacks proved no match for the Knights’ ball-hawking, ball-control defense in a battle of non-region rivals and 2016 state finalists that are continuing to impress in the early going of 2017.
Wednesday's showdown played out like many expected with the stingy Johnson defense, anchored by junior Herbert Figueroa, giving little quarter and the Vikings offense, paced by the high-flying Sergio Turcios, looking for openings when available. But the Johnson backline may have been at its season’s-best, yielding less than 10 shots and only one East Hall corner.
“Our defense has been solid all year, and I thought we played well back there,” Johnson coach Brian Shirley said. “We knew coming in we had to limit their counter-attacks, and I thought we did a good job of that.”
It was a far cry from the last year's wide-open matchup that saw the Knights battle back from an early 2-0 deficit against the Vikings, rallying for a 4-2 victory.
The Knights (6-1) got their first break in the opening moments this time around -- thanks to a series of Vikings miscues.
A wayward East Hall pass set the stage, inviting Johnson’s Felix Velasquez to charge down a loose, bouncing ball. As the Johnson attacker tried to control he was fouled by Vikings keeper Oscar Rosas, which resulted in a yellow card for Rosas just 30 seconds after kickoff. The ensuing free kick was cleared by Vikings defense, allowing Rosas back on to the field via a dead ball (GHSA rules stipulate that a player cautioned must leave the pitch). But Johnson's Marco Vazquez pounced on the enusing Vikings throw-in and fed a streaking David Flores down the left side, allowing Flores to blast a low shot past a diving Rosas for a 1-0 lead after 90 seconds of play.
“We wanted to come out quick and we caught them in a mistake and we got a good shot,” Shirley said. “That gave us some momentum.”
Yet Johnson could not extend its lead. Flores got another solid shot off at the 11-minute mark but Rosas denied it with a diving stop.
East Hall’s best early chance came two minutes later with a ball down the middle that Johnson keeper Cooper Bowen corralled just before the Vikings’ Benjamin Kisebwe could settle it inside the penalty area.
The Vikings kept the pressure on over the next six minutes but only produced one shot on goal thanks to Figueroa and the Knights defense clogging passing lanes and keeping Turcios off the ball.
“I thought it was the best game Michael (Figueroa) has played all season,” Shirley said. “The defense was tough in the middle.”
But, Johnson made its own defensive mistake in the box via miscommunication between Bowen and one of his own defenders -- who blocked Bowen’s attempted clearance. However, the Knights defense regained possession after a 20-yard blast by the Vikings’ Maury Ibarra was blocked by Figueroa.
The match shifted to a midfield battle for the remainder of the half, as both teams looked to counter-punch -- but there were scoring opportunities.
East Hall generated two attempts in the middle portion of the half but both times the Johnson defense did not yield a clean shot. The Knights also created a couple of chances, as Flores found a seam down the left side again only to watch his shot sail wide left.
The first corner of the match was not achieved until Johnson produced one with 8:18 left. But Junior Arellano’s shot after a pass to the middle sailed high and left.
The Knights created a clear opportunity to extend their lead with just over five minutes left in the first half after a series of passes from Arellano to Jair Gamez to Velasquez inside the Vikings penalty area. But East Hall’s Freddie Rebollar knocked down a shot and thwarted the attempt.
The Vikings next best chance came with two minutes left when Carlos Pulido and Turcios played a beautiful give-and-go. But Pulido’s left-footed attempt missed to the right of Bowen, keeping the Knights in front 1-0 at the interval.
Johnson applied the back-breaker in the second half -- and, appropriately, it was started by its defense. After swiping a pass on the near sideline, Velasquez maneuvered past a pair of Vikings defenders and blast home a beautiful strike into the upper left corner past a reaching Rosas in the 42nd minute for a 2-0 advantage.
“Felix has been training hard,” Shirley said. “He got a chance to make his second start tonight and he made the most of it. He probably earned another one with that performance.”
The Knights nearly put the result out of reach in the final minutes thanks to a perfectly-placed cross from Michael Arcia to Gamez for a header that just sailed wide. Yet the Vikings refused to wilt, and Turcios gave the crowd a jolt with a pair of serpentine moves through three Johnson defenders that culminated with him striking the right post with 2:50. In the final seconds Turcios escaped another pair of defenders and crossed to Ibarra in the box. But, fittingly, Bowen denied Ibarra’s attempt with 10 seconds remaining to preserve the shutout.
With an all-important Region 8-AAAAA opener against Buford at home looming on Friday, Shirley said it was important to maintain forward momentum, as they face the team the Knights defeated in last year's Class AAAA semifinals.
“That will be the biggest match of the year for us,” the coach said. “It’s great to play these big non-region matches, but that is the match that we need to really get. Hopefully we can build off what we did tonight.”
East Hall will play host to to Union County on Friday in a Region 7-AAA battle.
NOTES: Johnson has now outscored its opponents 20-4 on the season. ... East Hall came into the match having outscored its opposition 40-6 on the season. ... When the Vikings score, they are 7-0 on the season. Both losses have come via shutout. ... The Knights are 6-0 when they score a goal.
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