Spring Creek’s Jeheili Magdiel Velasquez-Sanchez, left, goalie Joseph Antonio Vasquez, middle, and Cristian Omar Juarez-Lopez, right, give a thumbs up to the midfield referee on a restart Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Jeheili Magdiel Velasquez-Sanchez (4) wins a header against North Johnston’s Jovany Torres during first-half play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek senior Ozias Miteu (10) keeps the ball away from North Johnston’s Josue Pacheco during their Neuse Six 2A soccer opener. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Yoban Aron Perez-Mazariegos (3) battles North Johnston’s Mudian Mustafa for possession of the ball during first-half action Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Lady Luck left room for doubt and nearly walked out on Spring Creek Tuesday evening.
She decided to stay. The Gators are thankful she did.
Junior Diego Lopez Morales delivered the game-winning goal in the 93rd minute of overtime, which capped an unbelievable, 3-2 comeback over North Johnston in the “The Swamp.”
“I think the soccer gods were with us tonight,” SC head coach Miguel Torres said. “We were able to walk out of here with the result we wanted.”
Winless in its previous 11 outings this season, North Johnston appeared destined to depart with a shutout victory in the Neuse Six 2A opener for both teams.
The Panthers dictated the tempo from the opening kickoff.
Crisp passing created high-energy attacks and pressured the Gators’ defense throughout the first 40 minutes. SC keeper Joseph Antonio Vasquez stopped two of three on-frame shots during that stretch.
NJ sophomore Jovany Torres broke the scoreless tie in the 37th minute with one-strike touch toward the back post. Vasquez dove to his right, but slipped and watched as the ball settled into the net.
Torres’ goal caused further frustration among the Gators.
Spring Creek couldn’t generate an offensive rhythm against the Panthers, who played stifling defense inside the 18-yard box. When the Gators managed to break through, they watched goalie Jesse Richardson thwart every shot attempt.
“[We] wanted to spread them out because they were so compacted in the middle of the field … wanted to see if they were going to come to the ball wide and see if we could break that defensive line they had,” coach Torres said. “It was a good block defensively, so it was going to be hard to crack. We had to move the ball fast because I felt like we were moving it too slow in the first half.”
Richardson continued to keep the Gators in check.
The senior net-minder got some breathing room in the 71st minute after senior Mudian Mustafa scored off of a corner kick.
Down 2-0, Spring Creek displayed a sense of urgency.
That mentality set the stage for yet another classic finish in the budding rivalry.
In the 78th minute, junior Jeheili Velasquez-Sanchez beat his defender one-on-one during an indirect kick after a foul outside the 18-yard box. His low shot sailed toward the back post and found the net with two-plus minutes left in regulation.
One minute later, Velasquez-Sanchez got another touch on a ball that a pack of Panther defenders attempted to clear inside the 6-yard box. Teammate Emanuel Rangel stepped toward the deflection and collected the game-tying goal with 81 seconds to go.
“That’s just all heart there,” an emotional Torres said of the late rally.
Spring Creek just missed notching the game winner in the first OT.
The Gators intercepted a ball and worked it through the midfield early in the second OT. Morales managed to get a boot on it and lifted the Gators to their 21st regular-season conference triumph in 22 tries since 2021.
Sophomore Gustabo Vargas-Fajardo doled out two assists, while Velasquez-Sanchez provided one assist.
“It’s a team we had marked on the calendar and we were ready for them,” Torres said. “I think the boys showed they’re capable of fighting the entire game, but it’s a whole new season as we start conference [play]. Our goal is to win it and we wanted to show that tonight.”
Spring Creek (5-8-0 overall, 1-0-0 Neuse Six 2A) travels to Eastern Wayne on Thursday. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. North Johnston (0-12-0, 0-1-0) entertains Beddingfield the same evening.
