Quietly, and as road warriors, Gateway's boys soccer team has made history this season, with more possibly to come.
Thanks to a pair of 2-1 wins, over Auburndale and New Smyrna Beach, in the Class 5A regional playoffs, the Panthers (12-2-4) will play in their first-ever regional final Tuesday at 7 p.m. at New Port Richey River Ridge (16-3-1).
Gateway is the No. 5 seed in Region 5A-3, meaning they've been on the road against the No. 4 and No. 1 teams, and travel again Tuesday to the Knights.
GHS Coach Sagar Patel said a 2-0 loss to Tohopekaliga in the Orange Belt Conference championship game Dec. 12, Gateway's first loss of the year, set his team's jaw for the rest of the season.
"I'd say that's accurate," he said. "From then on, we've had seniors who've been playing like they don't want their season to end. Because of that, we're playing our best soccer now, at the right time."
The regional win over Auburndale Feb. 5 came as retribution for a loss to the Bloodhounds (the Panthers' only other defeat), 3-2 in overtime in the District 5A-7 semifinals.
"We were missing a couple key players in the district game. In the regionals we had a full roster and it was a different game," Patel said.
He said top-seeded New Smyrna Beach plays a lot like Auburndale, which made his team ready to match up effectively Wednesday.
"Our center backs took the ball in the air away from them," Patel said. "My assistant coach Jean Batista came up with the idea that we should push everybody up, the midfield and the backs, and pin them in their own end, and we were able to win in transition."
Striker Adrian Rodriguez scored four goals in the three postseason games, including both against New Smyrna Beach to give him 16 on the year. On the defensive side, Patel lauded the effort of center backs Keandre Octave and Jesus Linares with keeping the opposition from getting many clean looks at the net.
A win Tuesday puts Gateway in the Class 5A state semifinal at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand on Feb. 27. As a No. 5 regional seed, Gateway is nowhere near the lowest seed left in the tournament, as No. 7 and 8 seeds made finals in two other regions.
"We just want to go out Tuesday and play our game, and worry about the rest later," Patel said.
