By Jeff Odom
It’s been year of making history for the Sunlake boys soccer team, and the Class 3A-District 7 final Jan. 25 was just another chapter.
The top-seeded Seahawks (27-0) dispatched No. 3 and tournament host Pasco 2-0 for their second straight district title, but it wasn’t the trophy that the team was concerned about.
It was the perfect record: “27-0 means nothing now; It’s all about 32-0 and getting to the state final,” said Ryan Norberg. “We need to win it all to make it the best. That’s what we’re really looking forward to now, and this is great, but after today it means nothing.”
Sunlake coach Sam Koleduk said there was pressure going in as the favorite to win the league title, but nerves never played a factor against the Pirates (12-6-1).
“It’s a lot different this year because we’re the favorites, but the boys really responded and really played well,” Koleduk said. “(Pasco) hung in there, and I think we really dominated the game, and I thought in the first half it could have been three or four to zero pretty easy, but we weren’t giving up shots.”
It was a frustrating start for the Seahawks after failing to convert multiple scoring chances, but Norberg came to his team’s rescue.
The junior defender took advantage of three ill-timed yellow cards by Pasco and headed in a free kick from sophomore midfielder Chris Wilkerson to give his squad the lead in the 32nd minute.
“We were pushing hard attacking them, and we were getting plenty of opportunities,” Norberg said. “Finally, he hit a ball over, and I just hit it, flicked it up and put it to the back post, and it went in.”
Koleduk told his team at the half it was their championship to lose.
“We couldn’t allow them to get anything,” Norberg said. “We had a 1-0 lead, and coach said we had to make sure we keep it that way and hold them off for the rest of the game.”
The Pirates opened the second half by applying more pressure inside Sunlake’s box, but they were unable to capitalize.
The Seahawks added an insurance tally in the 54th minute when Connor Spencer redirected a 35-yard free kick from Austin Goble into the back of the net for his 34th goal.
“This is great,” Spencer said. “We’re finally making a name for ourselves, and we’re finally not known as much as the underdog of the county, and we’re not the little kids anymore.”
Sunlake senior forward Connor Gilboy tallied two goals in the 4-0 win over Wesley Chapel in the semifinals Jan. 24 to bring his total to 60 on the season.
Gilboy is already Pasco County’s record holder for a season, and is just nine away from the state mark for a year set by current Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski in 1997 at Daytona Beach Seabreeze.
“It’s absolutely incredible and truly shows all of that hard work,” Gilboy said. “We’ve had four years to build, and it’s almost bittersweet that I’m on the end it. I’m hoping to just ride it out and have such a prosperous future because of how hard we worked for this in those four years, putting in all I could to help us get to this point.”
In the other semifinal, No. 2 seed Land O’ Lakes couldn’t make up for a slow start against Pasco, falling 4-2. It’s the first time since the 2002-03 season the Gators (12-5) have failed to advance to the playoffs.
Land O’ Lakes trailed 4-0 at halftime, but senior midfielder Sean Young (28 goals) scored a pair of goals after the break to close the deficit.
Sunlake hosts Mitchell Jan. 30 in the regional quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Koleduk said his team knows what it has to do to reach the ultimate goal.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done so far, because these guys deserve to be where they are,” Koleduk said. “I’m encouraged by our efforts. We’ve come out really strong, and at this point it’s just win and move on.”
