Second-half surge moves Guardians past Leopards

Lakewood, with the No. 12 seed in the NCHSAA 1A soccer playoffs, hosted No. 21 seed Wake Prep Academy Saturday for first-round action. A heartbreaking loss came for the Leopards as they fell 4-3 to the visitors, ending their season.

The Leopards took the ball first and moved it towards their own net to set up a long attack down the field. An early throw-in from Cristofer Cortes to Ivan Castaneda didn’t field much, but with Wake Prep kicking it out of bounds, they were awarded a corner kick.

The kick was long, which gave possession back to the Guardians. This set up the first offensive attack of their own, and a corner kick near the 38-minute mark nearly ended with a header goal, but it sailed wide. An offsides penalty was called on them as well, further hindering their chance at Lakewood’s goal.

The Leopards continued trying to clear it from their defensive zone, but Wake Prep was there to take the ball back each time. Castaneda saved Lakewood from an early deficit, as a hustle play saw him kick the ball out, thus stopping a one-on-one attack.

Lakewood took the fight to their offensive zone briefly, but almost 10 minutes into the first half, their signature smothering offense wasn’t there yet. That is, until Edward Palap-Perez took a centering pass from the right side and found the back of the net for the first score of the game with 32:16 left in the first half, making it a 1-0 lead for the Leopards.

The Guardians got another breakaway look at Lakewood’s goal, but Omar Ortiz was there to stop the tying shot.

Control of the ball was still a struggle for both teams — not because of unforced errors — who were showcasing strong-willed defense. The fight for the ball stayed near midfield, as it had before, as the teams tried to set up their offenses and gain an edge.

The clock ticked past 20 minutes and the score remained unchanged, as the defensive slug fest continued. Any time either team had a chance to get into the open field, it was quickly thwarted.

Wake Prep had yet another opportunity to score, but Ortiz was there to stop it with 9:30 left to go. A CK from the Guardians was next, but a penalty was called and Lakewood took the ball back.

The score stayed at the same 1-0 lead Lakewood held onto for over 30 minutes as the teams broke for half, but not before more possessions and semi-open looks were had for each squad.

“Stay humble,” head coach Marco Perez told the Leopards as his last speech before the teams took the field after half. “Stay humble no matter what.”

The Guardians took the second half kickoff and made quick moves to get to the Lakewood goal. It was all Wake Prep at the beginning of the second half, but Lakewood soon turned up the pressure that propelled them late in the regular season.

Wake Prep looked to have scored with 35:45 remaining, but an offsides was called on the play and the goal was nullified, keeping the Leopards in the lead, 1-0.

Just over a minute later, though, they were penalty-free in their scoring attack as Aaron Avila fell down trying to chase the attack, and they had a wide open look. At 34:32 Wake Prep scored, tying things at 1-1.

The Leopards had an opportunity to tie the game, but were thwarted, and on the clearing pass from the Guardians’ goalie, their offense was able to get past the defense and score their second unanswered point, giving them the 2-1 lead over the home team with 30:20 remaining.

A free kick from John Fernandez with 29 minutes to go almost found the net, but it was high and wide left, keeping the score the same.

A throw-in from Palap-Perez to Cortes allowed Cortes to break free and get a centering pass to an open Kevin Molina, but his shot was grabbed by the goaltender just north of the 26 minute mark as the Leopards looked to tie the game sooner rather than later.

The defense from Wake Prep was holding strong during the Leopards’ attacks, not allowing them to find passing or shooting lanes halfway through the second half, and their offense was quick on the attack on the other end.

Englebert Guevara saved a goal on a breakaway, as he hustled down the field to stop the attempt from gaining more traction as it neared Lakewood’s goal.

Offensive woes were for naught, though, as Casteneda sent a shot to the back left corner of the net and it found its home there, making it a 2-2 game with 21:20 to go.

Ortiz was there for the stop again with 19:30 to go, as he stopped the ball not once, but twice, from entering his threshold to give the Guardians the lead. Lakewood took the ball down the field from there and narrowly missed the go-ahead goal wide right. Ortiz continued to see plenty of action, as Wake Prep continued to put pressure on the Lakewood defense, but he stood strong in his goal and continued to push the attempts away.

Because of this, the Leopards continuously cleared the ball downfield. One of these attacks drew a penalty from the Guardians, and Fernandez sent a free kick to the goal at 13:22, which found its home once more. With that, Lakewood led 3-2 going into the final portion of the game.

A rebound from a Wake Prep free kick found another Guardian who got it past Ortiz by bouncing it off the top bar with 8:32 remaining. This made knotted things up at three apiece. Things continued in their favor as just 40 seconds later, Ortiz came to stop an attacker, but the ball found its way into the net once again. This gave them the 4-3 lead over the hometown Leopards.

With 5:10 to go, things almost continued spiraling out of control for Lakewood as the ball found the back of their net once more, but Wake Prep was called for another offsides penalty.

As the clock continued to wind down, Lakewood searched for opportunities to come about for them, but it was ultimately to no avail. The score stayed at the same 4-3 as before, and Lakewood took the first-round loss in the playoffs.

“Fell a little short today,” Darren Hulen, who serves as assistant coach and athletic director, told the team after the game. “Seniors — you have been a big part of this program for the last four years, and we thank you. Younger guys — let this be a learning moment for you. It’s one-and-done in the playoffs.”

“Sad,” Perez said after the game, on how he felt, echoing the emotions of his players. “Very sad.”

Perez fought through tears, often pausing between words to choke them back. “I think we built a good team, but we just … just couldn’t hold it together,” he continued. “Every beginning’s gotta have an ending, and we’re never ready for it. Finishing like this is tough, but it is what it is. But we’ve gotta come back and regroup and keep building … keep building.”

Lakewood finished their season at 12-7-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the Carolina 1A Conference.