Playing controversially a man down, Celebration surrendered the game-winner goal with eight seconds remaining in the first extra-time period as Sarasota Riverview took a 2-1 decision over the Storm in a Class 7A regional quarterfinal game Wednesday.
The winning goal came with Celebration playing a man down; Edgar Marquez was sent off with 17 minutes remaining in regulation. With the Storm trailing 1-0, Marquez found a ball in front of the net off a set piece and drilled it home for the equalizer.
He ran towards the Celebration stands and lifted his shirt up to expose a message written on his t-shirt in honor of a relative that passed away earlier in the week. He was immediately given a blue card and disqualified from the game.
“The rule says if you cause a delay in game or call excessive attention to yourself, a blue card can be issued and the player is ejected and can’t be replaced,” Coach Chad Boudeaux explained. “He really was just trying to honor his cousin who passed away last week and we tried to explain that, but the official decided to issue the blue card and eject him.”
As opposed to a red card, in which the player would miss the following game, Marquez would have been able to return for Saturday’s regional semifinal had the Storm won.
Two other county teams also saw their seasons end in Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Harmony (12-7-2) fell to Region 2 No. 1 seed Viera, 3-0, and Gateway (7-6-3) lost, 2-1, to Gainesville (14-0-2) in a Class 5A game.
Despite playing a man down, Celebration dominated both possession and shots on goal for the remainder of the half. But despite putting 13 shots on net, they failed to score, sending the game into extra-time.
“When we couldn’t find a second goal in regulation, I sensed we were going to be in some trouble,” Boudreaux said. “You simply go a man down and then give a talented opponent 20 extra minutes, because you knew they would eventually figure it out.”
Celebration still kept the pressure on in the first overtime period. That changed when they failed to clear the ball out of their zone in the final seconds of the first overtime. Ryan Sims sent a cross over to the other side of the field and Nate Spycher found himself on a one-on-one situation with Celebration goalie Nicholas Acre. Spycher hit a one-timer past Acre into the right-hand corner of the net for go-ahead goal.
The Storm failed mustered just one serious threat in the second 10-minute overtime period, but had its one shot sail wide left of the goal.
When the game ended, emotions boiled over on the field and a brief scuffle broke out before coaches and school officials were able to restore order.
“We went undefeated in the regular season, won OBCs and won the district. Even after the ejection, we played with a lot of heart. Our kids were still upset because of the blue card and words were being said at the end and emotions just boiled over,” Boudreaux said. “It’s a shame that a black mark will be put on this team because of what happened at the end, because we had a great season.”
The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half. Sims put the Rams up 1-0 at the 25-minute mark of the second half when he took a long pass off a counter and dribbled past Celebration’s back line and beat Acre to the right corner.
Riverview advances to the regional semifinals where they meet Lakewood Ranch (17-1-1) Saturday.
