By Ken Jackson

For the News-Gazette

Any clarity in the Orange Belt Conference and 4A District 6 races derived from Thursday’s match at Celebration High was clouded by Andres Romero.

The Osceola High midfielder laced a free kick from the edge of the penalty area that somehow got through untouched and into the net with 1:23 left that erased the Storm’s one-goal lead, resulting in a 3-3 tie.

Celebration (2-1-2) had come from a 2-0 deficit two minutes into the second half to take a 3-2 lead 20 minutes later. Needless to say, CHS Coach Julio Machuca was feeling mixed emotions after the game.

“They really took it to us the first 15 minutes or so, and we got ourselves into a hole, but the kids responded,” he said. “Then our subs gave us a spark; we were a different team after our first goal. At the end you have to rush back on defense, and we didn’t.”

For Osceola (5-2-1), Mike Bonilla scored twice, the first 10 minutes into the game. He made it 2-0 two minutes after halftime with a drive to the top right corner. But the Storm began its comeback just six minutes later when Shane Subero, minutes after coming off the bench, scored from an odd angle to make it 2-1.

Eleven minutes later, Jose Perez lofted a ball meant to be a pass that got caught in the breeze and floated past the OHS keeper to tie it. Four minutes later Celebration led when it was awarded a penalty kick that Jhesu Pardo de Figueroa converted.

But, it was Romero who turned defeat into a tie — after it looked like sure victory. OHS Coach Tom Bell didn’t know what to make of the night.

“We came in playing well,” he said. “We’re young, but it’s still mostly the same team from last year (that went to the regional playoffs). We didn’t have to wait on anyone from football so we got started full force early on.

“We’ve played well. We got beat by Gateway and Freedom, those aren’t in the district, but they’re who we want to play to get better.”

On Wednesday, St. Cloud claimed the first leg of the Bull-Horn Trophy with a 4-2 victory at Gannarelli Field. Carlos Loch scored twice and Stephon Moise added a goal for the Bulldogs (4-3-1). Nicolas Aguedelo and Nam Vo scored for the Longhorns (4-2-1).

“Our defense played very well against Harmony’s aggressive offense,” SCHS Coach Weylan Craig said. “They switched to a 3-4-3 to pressure us toward the end, but our defense held strong.”

The two teams played Friday at Harmony to see if St. Cloud retained the trophy or if the Longhorns wrestled it away.

In District 5A-5, Gateway is a perfect 3-0 and 7-0 overall after a 5-4 win over Apopka on Thursday. The Panthers have wins over Poinciana, Osceola and Liberty in OBC play.

In girls soccer, both Osceola (7-1) and Harmony (6-2) are 5-0 in 4A-6 play, and should the Kowgirls get past Lake Minneola on Tuesday and the Longhorns beat Liberty on Thursday, the two will play on Jan. 3 to decide the No. 1 seed at the district tournament later that month.

Harmony coach Stephanie Jones said the team hasn’t missed a beat after reaching the state tournament last year, but then graduating seven senior starters.

“The team is doing well, but we are working to get ready for the end of the season,” she said. “We have some pretty big goals, but always have to put in the work.”