Columbus boys soccer edges Homestead in PKs, will host Reagan in GMAC finals
Columbus’ Eduardo Cardonne stood calmly in the net as Homestead’s Franklin Benegas went to the 12-yard line for his penalty kick.
The stakes were simple: A stop would secure the Columbus’ victory after a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation in the GMAC boys’ soccer tournament semifinals on Wednesday night.
Benegas shuffled his feet and sent a shot on the ground toward the net. Cardonne slid and suffocated the shot. His Explorers teammates stormed the field in jubilation.
“I don’t think there’s any program in the state that trains as hard as we do,” Cardonne said. “We go through penalty kicks. We go through, really, anything you think of, we go through. ... No matter how much skill you have, no matter how technical you are, it all boils down to how hard you work.”
And with that, the Columbus Explorers (14-3-2) will get one more home match before heading into their district tournament. Columbus hosts Reagan in the GMAC championship on Friday. Reagan advanced by defeating Krop 1-0 in the earlier semifinal.
“This is why I love playing the GMACs,” Columbus coach Michael Stewart said. “You get two or three or at least one extra quality game before districts. That team right over there, this could be the opposite side right now. The game came down to the players handling their emotions and as you can see at the end, we got the better of them by being calm. We got five perfect penalties. They got four.”
After starting the year 1-2-1, Columbus has won 13 of its last 15 matches, outscoring the opposition 56-9 in that span.
“We’ve claimed our name,” Cardonne said. “We want to keep our legacy going”
In the other semifinal matchup, Reagan scored the lone goal four minutes into the second half and senior goalkeeper Nicolas Jordan preserved the shutout despite multiple pressures from Krop in the final few minutes.
The win for the Bisons (13-5-2) also avenged a 3-1 loss to Krop from last week — Reagan’s lone loss in its past 13 matches.
“It’s good. It’s good. It was a quality game against a quality team,” first-year Reagan head coach Michael Bailie said. “Krop is a team we played before, so we knew what kind of style they played. It feels good.”
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