By Jeff Odom
The Sunlake boys soccer team found itself in an unfamiliar situation at home against Pasco Feb. 2 in the regional semifinals.
The Seahawks (29-0), who are usually known for their dominant offensive attack, struggled to keep the ball out of their zone and had to turn to freshman goalkeeper Danny Hrenko to keep them afloat in the first half.
He didn’t disappoint.
Hrenko made four point-blank saves on 11 shots to carry his team to a 2-0 win over the Pirates (13-6-1) to earn the program’s second regional finals berth.
“I’m just super proud that we’ve made it this far,” said Hrenko, who has 21 shutouts this season. “We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had many shots (against us), but when we do, I’m there for them, and my defense has been there for me. … If the whole team continues to work together, we can really do this.”
It was a fourth meeting between the Class 3A-District 7 rivals this season, something Sunlake coach Sam Koleduk said played a factor to start the game.
“It’s totally mental I believe, beating them three times by a total of 12-0,” Koleduk said. “We weren’t quite as motivated as we should have been, and I told the guys that we need to weather the storm, which we did. We survived.”
The Seahawks mustered just four shots in the first half, but converted one in the 23rd minute.
Derek Noble fired a shot that was turned away, but Aaron Aucoin was right there for the rebound to give his squad the one-goal edge.
Aucoin set up the insurance tally in the 49th minute, sending a pass to Connor Spencer for his 37th goal this season.
“Every game could be our last now,” said Spencer, a sophomore forward. “I feel like some of the tougher games are behind us now, and we can’t overlook any team at this point.”
Sunlake would dominate the remainder of the second half, compiling 10 shots on goal and taking advantage of multiple Pasco mistakes, including a double yellow card in the 67th minute that forced Pirates midfielder Jose Flores to the bench for the rest of the game.
“After we got that goal, I thought we settled down a little bit,” Koleduk said. “They were tough though, man. They played really well in the first half, but I think, same as always, the discipline really hurts them with the cards and talking back to coaches and everything.”
The Seahawks survived one of its toughest tests of the season in the regional quarterfinals Jan. 30, inching past Mitchell 4-2.
Sunlake opted to open with the gusty wind to its back. The move paid off as the host built a three-goal lead on 10 shots in the first half with tallies from Chris Wilkenson, Spencer and Noble.
The Mustangs (18-4-3) wouldn’t go quietly, dominating the second half offensively by outshooting the Seahawks 13-5.
Mitchell got on the board in the 54th minute on an own goal by Sunlake, and Chet Kirtley added another tally to bring the game within one with 18 minutes remaining.
The Seahawks would hang on thanks to a pair of late saves by Hrenko and another goal by Spencer in the 80th minute.
“I knew whoever had the wind would kind of dominate each half,” Koleduk said. “I wasn’t quite sure three goals would be enough, because we missed some easy ones in the first half. We definitely want to have a close game here or there, though.”
Frustrations boiled over before the final whistle as a shoving match started between the teams and led to a Mitchell player being ejected and another getting a yellow card for entering the field from the bench.
Sunlake travels to Gainesville Eastside Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. for the regional finals. A victory would send the sixth-year program to its first state semifinals, which the Seahawks would host Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee-Gulf Breeze game.
