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Celebration’s boys’ soccer team recorded a 2-0 road win over Harmony to claim the Class 7A, District 9 championship on Wednesday night. PHOTO/J. DANIEL PEARSON
Miguel Hernandez scored a first half goal off a set piece and the Celebration defense dominated the entire game as the Storm defeated Harmony, 2-0, to win the Class 7A, District 9 soccer championship on Wednesday night at Harmony.
Meanwhile, the Lady Longhorns repaid the favor, and got revenge on Celebration from the OBC championship game, with a 6-0 win in the 7A-9 girls’ championship at Celebration.
The win most likely secured the top seed in the Region 3 tournament for Celebration’s boys, meaning the Storm could remain at home to and through the state semifinals.
“I am really proud of this team and they have certainly earned the right to play at home in regional play,” Celebration assistant coach/ Athletic Director Chad Boudreaux said of his team that went to 12-2-1 on the season. “We played the most difficult regular season schedule since I have been here and that has prepared us to get to this point.”
Celebration threatened several times in the first half, but the game remained tied until the 23rd minute. Edgar Marquez put a corner kick on the forehead of an unmarked, charging Hernandez – who headed the ball past Harmony goalie Miguel Zapata for a 1-0 lead.
After a slow start to the second half, Celebration would begin to ramp up the pressure starting at the 51st minute. The Storm would get several shots on goal midway through the period, but several point blank shots from the front of the net sailed high and Zapata would then stop a Jose D’lima blast from the right side to keep it a 1-0 game.
It would remain that way until the 71st minute when Anyelo Castelano found a rebound at his left foot in mid-step but was still able to push the ball past Zapata for a 2-0 lead. A third Storm goal two minutes later was called back on an off-sides call.
“Scoring a goal in soccer is really a hard thing to do -- there’s a reason why there are a lot of 1-0 and 2-0 games,” Boudreaux said. “But that said, we did have a lot of opportunities to put the game away earlier than we did. We might need to spend some extra time on shooting practice. But give Harmony some credit too. Coach Ballard (Brett) does a great job with them. They are always well-coached and play extremely hard.”
Even without Castelano’s insurance goal, the Storm were never really faced strong defensive challenges. Storm goalie Christopher Hernandez recorded his 10th shutout of the season but had little to as the Celebration defense limited Harmony to just two total shots that weren’t on front. On the season, Celebration has allowed just eight total goals in 15 games.
“I said it after the Orange Belt Conference championship game and it bears repeating,” Boudreaux added. “Coach (Lauren) Osborn has done a fantastic job with our defense. Our youth and inexperience back there was a huge concern for us coming into the season and without a doubt it has become our strength.”
As district champions, Celebration is guaranteed a home game in the regional quarterfinals on Wednesday (Feb. 8). The regional semifinals are on Feb. 11 and regional finals on Feb. 15.
“The girls played some really good soccer (Wednesday),” HHS Coach Scott Marlega said. “It’s amazing how much mentality makes a difference. They were focused and hungry to get that trophy, and get back at Celebration.”
The Lady Longhorns’ win lifted them to 12-3-3 and avenged a 2-1 loss to Celebration (14-3-0) in the Orange Belt Conference Championship game back on Dec. 8.
As district champion, the Longhorns will host a regional quarterfinal game on Tuesday. Celebration, which came into the district final ranked seventh in the region, still has a chance to earn a regional at-large berth, as the four district champions and four highest ranked not district champions in each region qualify.
In the 5A, District 6 boys’ championship game, number 2 seeded Gateway (12-3-1) lost a 2-1 decision to top-seeded Horizon. Entering district tournament play ranked 15th in Class 5A, the Panthers most likely will receive an at-large bid to the Region 5A-2 playoffs.
