In the end, playing a man down was just too much for the Celebration soccer team to overcome.
Luke Spycher scored the goal-ahead goal with eight seconds to go in the first extra-time period to lead Sarasota Riverview to a 2-1 overtime win over Storm on Wednesday night in a Class 7A, Region 2 quarterfinal game. The loss ended the Storm season with an 11-1-4 record.
Celebration played the final 17 minutes of regulation and both 10 minute overtime periods down one man. Trailing 1-0 in the game, striker Edgar Marquez netted the equalizer but was shown a blue card and ejected from the game when he ran towards the Celebration fans and pulled his jersey over his head.
“He had written a message on his T-shirt to honor a cousin who passed away last week. It was not malicious and it was just an emotional response from Edgar,” Celebration coach Chad Boudreaux said. “The rule book says a player can be given a blue card and ejected for delay of game or for drawing excessive attention to himself. We tried to explain the situation but the official decided to issue the blue card anyways.”
Despite playing a man down, Celebration kept the pressure on Riverview but failed to net the go-ahead goal, which sent the game to overtime. “When we couldn’t get another goal in regulation, I knew it would be extremely difficult for us to win the game,” Boudreaux said. “You can’t go down a man against a talented team and then give them an extra 20 minutes of time because we knew they would figure it out.”
After Spycher’s goal, Celebration could only put one shot on goal in the second overtime period. The game, which was marred by numerous yellow cards during the contest, then saw a scuffle break out and both benches emptying before coaches and school officials could restore order.
“It’s going to put a black mark on the season and that’s a shame,” Boudreaux added. “We went undefeated in the regular season, won OBCs (Orange Belt Conference), and won a district title. We also played with a ton of heart tonight. We were upset because of the ejection and there was some trash talk going on. Unfortunately, emotions just got the best of everyone.”
The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half. Although Celebration had seven shots on goal compared to none for Riverview, in reality each team only had one serious scoring threat. At the seven-minute mark, Ryan Sims would get a breakaway for the Rams. But Storm goalie Nick Acre came off his line and when Sims tried to maneuver around him he put a hard touch on the ball and couldn’t catch up to it as it rolled over the end line. At the seven-minute mark, Celebration had a free-kick from a distance that was on target but goalie Israel Valle made a terrific stop to keep the game scoreless.
Sims would give Riverview a 1-0 lead at the 25-minute market, taking a long counter and drilling the ball past Acre. For the game, Riverview had just three shots on goal. “We made just two mistakes all game and they took advantage of them,” Boudreaux said.
For the game, Celebration led in shots on goal 14-3 but Valle came up with 13 saves in the win. Riverview, who went to 12-1-4 on the season, now advances to the regional semifinals where they will meet Lakewood Ranch (17-1-1) on Saturday.
