For the fourth straight year, the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee varsity soccer team is heading to the State championship game. The Eagles defeated Covenant Day School 2-1 in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association quarterfinals, setting up a rematch from earlier in the season against No. 3 Wesleyan Christian Academy which the Eagles won 3-1.
The No. 2 Eagles now face off against familiar foe No. 1 Carmel Christian School in a rematch of last year’s championship game.
The No. 2 Eagles took on Wesleyan during their road trip in early October, defeating them 2-1 in a thrilling overtime game where junior Winfred Sarpong scored the game winning goal. In the rematch, the Eagles defeated Wesleyan 3-1 thanks to senior Emilio Roman’s two goals.
Against Covenant, the game was highly physical with both teams grappling for positioning and an advantage. Junior Shaun Ayivor and Sarpong connected to give the Eagles a one goal lead in the middle of the first half, with Ayivor sending in a perfect cross that found Sarpong who found the back of the net. Neither team could score again until halfway through the second half.
With the game getting more and more physical, the Eagles earned a penalty kick. Junior Marcelo Gonzalez stepped up and knocked home the shot, finding the bottom left corner past the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands.
“That was actually our first penalty kick all year,” first year head coach Andrew Wiese said. “I wasn’t sure who was going to take it for us, but I’m big on empowering the players, I always tell them that I’m not on the field, they are the decision makers and ‘Celo stepped up big time.
“I thought it was going to be Emilio who took it, but when we were practicing penalty kicks last practice, ‘Celo was just automatic. I have complete faith in him.”
The Eagles also gave up a penalty kick, but the Eagles held onto the narrow lead to escape the game with a win, advancing to the semifinals.
“It’s good to both earn and give up a penalty kick early in the playoffs because now we know what to expect,” Wiese said. “I was a little nervous on both sides just because we hadn’t seen it, but now I have complete confidence.”
Covenant was intensely physical, knocking multiple players over but the refs let the players continue playing.
“Our guys just battled,” Wiese said. “Playoffs are obviously a different animal, and we knew we had to look for our moments. Not letting ourselves get caught up really speaks to our leadership and our seniors, they recognize that our goal is still two games away.”
In the second match, the Eagles scored first with Gonzalez once again drawing first blood. After earning a free kick right outside the 18, Gonzalez found the net for his second goal in as many playoff games. In the second half, Roman scored on a phenomenal kick to give the Eagles a cushion before Wesleyan struck back. On a free kick, senior goalkeep Hugo Garcia went out to play a ball but Wesleyan got possesion and put the ball in the net. With Wesleyan knocking on the door, junior Theo Ochieng drew a penalty kick. Roman stepped up and found the bottom left corner to seal the game.
“Our one goal we gave up, it happens,” Wiese said. “Garcia came out for the ball and when we do that we can give up goals. But I love that aggression, I love that we have a goalie like Garcia who will come out and challenge the ball.”
The Eagles struggled with cramping throughout the second half, with multiple players going down and having to be helped off the field.
“Once we started cramping I told all the guys on the bench, it’s all hands on deck,” Wiese said. “We knew if we had to substitute a player, we would have to sub quickly. All the credit goes to these guys, they took the chances they had.”
The Eagles will now travel to Matthews, NC on Saturday for the NCISAA state championship match.
“Our wings did such a great job tonight,” Wiese said. “Wini and ‘Celo were always open, and they really helped us build an attack. Emilio obviously was huge, I moved him back to the midfield toward the end just to get possesion and help keep our shape to close out the game.
Wiese said the previous win over Wesleyan helped give some confidence to the Eagles that helped carry them through the match.
“It’s always nice knowing you came out on top in the last match,” Wiese said. “It made us feel like we were the hunter, not the hunted. Our three core values are unity, commitment and discipline and these guys embodied what our core values are today.”