By Jeff Odom
Laker/Lutz News Correspondent
The Gaither boys soccer team clawed its way to the Class 4A-District 8 title with a 3-2 victory against Freedom on Jan. 28 despite losing 10 seniors to graduation from the year before.
The No. 2 seeded Cowboys (17-4-1) staved off a late charge by No. 1 Freedom (11-6-1) to escape with the win, something Gaither coach Eric Sims aimed for all year.
“I knew we had a lot coming back, we lost some impact players last year, but I knew we had a strong foundation,” Sims said. He then added, “I’ve had a lot of really good teams not win district championships. … I’m really proud of the job they did.”
The Cowboys didn’t waste time getting to work in the first half, stopping the Patriots cold in their tracks early. Freedom’s Connor Limburg took a shot at 17 minutes in, but only found the crossbar.
Gaither marched the ball back down field. Tyler Helm sent a pass across to Justin Santos, who headed it in for the game’s first goal.
The Cowboys kept the offensive pressure less than a minute later when Jonas Bukh found the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
“It’s always good to come in front,” Bukh, a senior forward, said of his first goal. “We always want to be in front and never want to be behind early.”
Gaither’s defense wouldn’t hold the Patriots back for long, as an inopportune handball in the 34th minute set up a penalty kick for Evan Kruk, which he converted to cut the deficit to one going into the half.
Bukh said Sims preached sticking to the basics at halftime.
“He was like ‘They’re going to come out and thunder at you, you guys got to hold them off and get another goal and put them away,’” Bukh said.
The Cowboys carried the momentum over after the half and struck off a corner kick in the 46th minute. Bukh, who spent last year in his native Denmark after attending Gaither as a freshman and sophomore, nabbed the rebound and sent the ball sailing into the goal for a 3-1 lead.
“He’s just dangerous,” Sims said of Bukh. “Every time he touches the ball, he’s very dangerous and he’s turned into a finisher for us. It’s definitely good that he landed back with us.”
The Patriots tried to seize an opportunity to get a goal back midway through the second half on a corner kick, but were quickly turned away by goalkeeper Carlos de Oliveira, who made a diving save on Patrick Watters to preserve the two goal lead.
The Patriots started a comeback attempt in the 76th minute after cutting the lead to one. Kruk took the free kick and sent the ball careening into a host of Freedom attackers. Jett Wright redirected the ball into the net to keep his team alive.
The excitement was short lived, as Gaither kept the ball in the Patriots’ end refusing to let them tie the game. Freedom gave one final push in stoppage time, but Kruk sent the ball wide off a corner kick.
Patriots coach Dennis Derflinger said it’s great to be back in the playoffs for the first time in three years, but added not taking home the district crown stings a bit.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet,” Derflinger said. He then added, “We know we had a chance at this game tonight, but we just got to look forward to next week, come back and play like we did in the second half and I think we’ll be alright.”
The Cowboys defeated tournament host Steinbrenner 4-2 in the semifinals on Jan. 26. The Warriors (3-14) originally earned the No. 1 seed, but had to forfeit nine wins and two ties after an internal investigation found junior midfielder Ryan Kennedy was ineligible to play.
Bukh put the Cowboys up in the first half, but Steinbrenner’s Austin Renz evened the score on a penalty kick. The tie lasted 1 minute, as Gaither’s Jacob Snidle scored his fourth goal of the year. Bukh added another tally early in the second half to put the Cowboys up for good.
The Patriots won 4-0 against Wiregrass Ranch (14-8-3) in the other semifinal. Wright scored the first two goals in the contest, followed by tallies by Kruk and Larry Thorpe.
