High school boys soccer: Unbeaten Gainesville survives thriller vs. Oakleaf in region quarterfinal
In most matches this season, Gainesville boys soccer head coach Basil Benjamin hasn’t had to sweat blowing a lead because of his Hurricanes’ ability to play dominant defense.
That wasn’t the case Wednesday night when Oakleaf came to town and hung a season-high three goals on his squad.
Yet, with all eyes toward the ‘Canes’ unbeaten record, Benjamin said that streak is never on his or his team’s mind, no matter how tight a match gets.
“I’m not even thinking about the end,” Benjamin said. “I’m just thinking in the moment.”
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No. 2-seed Gainesville survived three unanswered second-half goals from the seventh-seeded Knights to win 4-3 and advance to Saturday’s Class 6A regional semifinal vs. third-seeded Gulf Breeze (19-2-1) at Citizens Field at 7 p.m.
Sophomore Keinde May-Parker accounted for all three Oakleaf (10-4-1) scores in what turned into a gritty thriller after the halftime break.
Senior Isaac Gugel led the way for the Hurricanes (15-0-1) with a goal and an assist. Daniel Brown, Dylan Fitzpatrick and Ryleigh Peyer added the other scores in a well-balanced first-half attack.
Here are three takeaways from the electric playoff match:
Gainesville uses patience to race to early lead
Gainesville looked like it would run away with an easy victory with its impressive play over the first 40 minutes.
All four of the ‘Canes goals came in the opening half as they spread the ball around with ease. Patience was key to letting the offense make good runs and, when close to the end line, look for a pass back across the box.
Gainesville found the net twice in the final six minutes on a pair of well-executed sets. With six minutes to go, senior Brendan Foley gave Fitzpatrick a through ball that allowed him to take it into the box and finish.
About two minutes later, Gugel placed a near-perfect corner kick on the head of Peyer who redirected the ball into the back of the net.
“We do a lot of situational stuff, combining and getting in and out, and then finding each other and finishing,” Benjamin said. “We spent a lot of time working on that this year.”
That trademark Hurricanes' defense – allowing less than a goal against per game going into Wednesday – was firing in the opening half, too. Although many early strikes went high or wide of the net, Oakleaf did not record a shot on goal until after halftime.
May-Parker does it all for Oakleaf
With their season on the line and in a 4-0 hole, Oakleaf’s May-Parker wouldn’t let the Knights go down easy after the break.
Less than three minutes in, he poked the Knights’ first shot on goal through a scramble and into the nylon. Thirteen minutes later, the sophomore got his second score on another broken play.
Benjamin elected to swap junior goalkeeper Elijah Witt for senior Thomas Walker at halftime, but with Gainesville’s lead halved and Walker injured on May-Parker’s second goal, he had no choice but to reenter his starter.
With a sea of momentum on their side and 19 minutes left, the Knights used a long goal kick to advance the ball upfield.
Senior Drew Ammon was waiting, and he perfectly flicked the ball to Akindele May-Parker. The elder May-Parker gave a nice through ball to his brother, who earned a penalty kick after getting tripped up in the box.
Keinde went top left on the free shot to earn a hat trick and stun the Hurricanes for the third time. He chipped in three of Oakleaf’s five total shots on goal in the second half.
First-half dominance gives way to second-half chippiness
Oakleaf clawed its way back in the game behind May-Parker’s offense, but all of the Knights bumped up the physicality in the final half.
The Knights were called for 10 fouls in the second half alone, using their aggressor status to wear down the Hurricanes offense while they made a run of their own.
Ammon and sophomore Isaiah Azore were both assessed yellow cards. Players from both teams went down hard as the clock was stopped numerous times for injuries.
“Anytime you win at this stage of the game, the games are usually going to be ugly,” Benjamin said. “You just have to try to fight through, try to get the 'W' and move on to the next game.”
Follow Caleb Wiegandt on Twitter at @CalebWiegandt.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Boys high school soccer: Gainesville holds on to defeat Oakleaf 4-3
