Columbus capitalizes once again to land second boys’ soccer state championship

Say this much for the Columbus boys soccer team.

They don’t make it to the state final four very much, but when they do, they make the most of it.

The Explorers did on Wednesday night when, just 24 hours after a convincing 4-1 semifinal win over Windemere, they rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to edge Palm Harbor University 3-2 and take the Class 7A state championship at Spec Martin Stadium.

The state title was the program’s second and came 12 years after the only other championship (and final four appearance) in 2014 when they defeated Boca Raton in the final.

It also left head coach Kameron Clark, a Columbus alum who played for the program from 2007-2010, soaked from a water cooler bath while being mobbed and hugged by his ecstatic players. Wrought with emotion, it took Clark a few minutes just to compose himself.

“Ever since I started coaching, this is where I always wanted to be,” said Clark, who was an assistant coach and part of Gulliver Prep’s 2020 state championship team. “I wanted to be at this school, where I played and left my heart and soul. Standing here in this celebration is such a surreal moment for me. I was part of something like this at Gulliver but not as a head coach and that wasn’t where I went to school and played. It’s always been about this place. This is my home, and I’m honored and privileged to bring another state championship back to this program.”

On a night where there were plenty of big moments for Columbus, the biggest came with 7:48 left in the game.

That’s when, with the score tied 2-2, Cristian Tamargo fed Ezequiel Bartra a beautiful pass down low. Bartra took a few steps to find some open space, turned on it and knifed a low, bending shot into the bottom right corner of the net for what would be the state championship winning goal.

“Once I saw Cristian pass me the ball, I saw their number 22 running at me,” Bartra said. “I had my teammate Jayden Glasper open, but I decided instead of passing it out there, I’d take a touch and turn on a shot. My coaches always tell me to risk it all, put a shot on target and that’s what I did and it ended up going in. What a great moment.”

Tamargo played a big role in what many might call “Columbus’ 57 seconds of magic.”

It took place at the 28:31 mark of the second half, and it’s where the Explorers (18-4-5) flipped the game in their favor when they scored two goals in less than a minute to turn that 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

First came a Benjamin Ochoa corner kick that reached the back post. When PHU goalkeeper Lucas Ellison couldn’t get to the ball, Max Samudio headed it in to tie the game.

Less than a minute later, Ochoa recorded another assist when he got to a loose ball and rifled it over to Tamargo on the right side. Tamargo found himself one-on-one with Ellison and one-touched it past him into the bottom left corner of the net. Just like that, with 27:28 left in the game, Columbus had stunned Palm Harbor and gone ahead 2-1.

“Even though we were down 1-0 at halftime, we never doubted ourselves that we could come back,” Tamargo said. “And just like that, we turned the tables on them with two goals in a minute. Once I scored that second goal, I knew we were going to win.”

But the Hurricanes, who came into the game with a 22-1 record and were looking for the program’s fourth state title but first since 2009, were not done.

They pressed the Columbus defense hard and, with 12 minutes left, the pressure paid off when they were awarded a corner kick. Connor Egan took it and Charlie Scott managed to beat Columbus goalkeeper Nicholas Siman to a loose ball and headed it in, tying the game at two.

For the Explorers, it was the end of a fascinating month, one that started with a district semifinal loss to Doral Academy before they regrouped. They clobbered Coral Glades, 5-0, in the regional quarterfinal, and avenged the loss to Doral with a 2-1 road upset win in the region semis. Columbus then upset top-seeded Cypress Bay in the region final, tying the game as overtime stoppage time was about to expire before winning it in PKs.

“That Doral loss was a real gut check and wakeup call for us,” Clark said. “I met with them the next day and asked them ‘do you guys want this or not?’ Well guess what, they went out and showed everybody that they really did want it and that’s why we’re standing out here tonight with medals around our neck.”