In an intense battle of back-and-forth possession between Central High School (5-8-2) and Weeki Wachee High School (6-8-4), The Bears secured a 6-5 win in Monday’s semi-finals match over The Hornets.
With Central taking an early lead of 3-1 in the first half, Weeki Wachee fought back to tie up with Central 3-3. The score remained tied going into overtime, which resulted in a shootout between The Hornets and The Bears.
Tensions were high as each player faced off in the shootout. Weeki Wachee, with the first shot, would miss wide right. Central would answer with a goal. The Bears would ultimately win the shootout with the final score of 6-5.
Coach Chief Mike Santiago had nothing but praise for his players, who were 0-18 just last season. “This is a huge win for us,” says Santiago, “we want to enjoy this obviously because this is huge for us considering we’ve never really had this feeling, then prepare ourselves for Wednesday to go out there and give Nature Coast a game and try to win it.”
Key players for Central HS were #16 Riley Tsigounis (Captain), #1 Ricky Engley, lead scorer with 6 goals in the season, #7 John Thawng leading in assists, #0 Xoan Cruz (Goalie) with two critical game-winning saves.
Notable players for Weeki Wachee HS were #0 John Brooks (Goalie), 76 season saves, #12 Dylan Freshwater, leading scorer with 10 goals in the season; #5 Gavin Maye, top scorer with 6 goals this season; #3 Graham Knoten, leading with 17 shots.
Central Bears meet Nature Coast Tech Sharks (14-4-2) in the district finals Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 7:00 pm at Nature Coast.
