Seahawks come up just short of the final four
By Kyle LoJacono
Pasco High is an established boys soccer power in Pasco County, but upstart Sunlake High marched into Dade City and upset the Pirates 2-1 in the Class 4A regional semifinals Feb. 8.
Pasco (21-3) was coming off a game where they shutout high-scoring Land O’ Lakes High, but could not hold down the Seahawks (20-9-1).
“It’s our biggest win in our school’s history in soccer and now we’re in the final eight,” said Sunlake coach Sam Koleduk. “So, it is very exciting for our team. And, coming and beating a team that’s just beat Land O’ Lakes now is extremely exciting.”
In the fourth minute, Colin Armstrong headed in a pass from sophomore Conner Gilboy past Pirates sophomore goalkeeper Angel Garcia.
Pasco answered in the 36th minute when senior Jose Flores set up sophomore Carlos Riojas for a one-time shot past Sunlake senior goalkeeper David Danahy.
The Seahawks took the lead for good when senior Jordan Landry scored his 51st goal of the season and the 117th of his high school career. The winning tally came off a free kick by junior Calvin Restrepo in the 53rd minute.
“They definitely caught us asleep on the second goal, that was a sure thing,” said Pasco coach Barry Grayling. “The first goal, we just weren’t marking up. We paid the price.”
Sunlake then moved into a defensive alignment to preserve the one-goal lead. Koleduk said he was nervous that the Pirates would be able to breakthrough, but they could not get past the Seahawks defense.
Sunlake then played at Celebration High in the regional finals, but the Seahawks came up one game shy of the final four losing 1-0 in penalty kicks. Sunlake was the only remaining Pasco County school in the boys soccer postseason.
The final was scoreless through regulation and the two overtimes. It went to penalty kicks, where Celebration ended up on top 4-3 to win 1-0. Ryan Norberg, Gilboy and Landry converted their kicks, but it was not enough for Sunlake.
Sunlake was playing in the program’s first ever regional tournament after finishing as the district runner-up to Land O’ Lakes. The squad also won 20 games for the first time in its four-year history.
-Staff Writer Tammy Sue Struble contributed to this story. All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
