Maybe those big-time sports academies (or perhaps more honestly and accurately “factories”) that are so popular with high school athletes and their parents these days aren’t so great for everyone.
Take the case of Springstead High senior soccer player Christian Gies. After spending his freshman year at Orlando City Academy, Gies has found a very comfortable home in his three seasons at Springstead. That situation is perfect for Gies and the Eagles.
“Christian has been a difference maker ever since he joined us,” Springstead coach Dominic Coco said.
Gies made his biggest difference yet Tuesday night in the most important game Springstead’s boys soccer team has played in more than a decade.
Gies scored both Springstead goals in a 2-1 victory against Wesley Chapel in a Regional quarterfinal game at Booster Stadium. The win moves the Eagles (15-3-1) into the Regional Semi-Finals against New Smyrna Beach High on Friday at the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex.
After scoring his 11th and 12th goals of the season against Wesley Chapel, which finished its season at 13-7-1, Gies said there’s no doubt he made the right move in leaving Orlando City Academy and enrolling at Springstead as a sophomore. Gies also scored a goal and recorded an assist in Springstead’s 3-2 victory against Leesburg in last week’s district championship game, which gave the Eagles their first district title in a dozen years.
In three outstanding seasons at Springstead, Gies now has scored 36 goals while recording 12 assists. That’s the kind of production Gies envisioned when he left Orlando City Academy after his freshman year.
“The competition there was great,” said Gies, who said he would like to continue his career in college at Stetson or the University of South Florida. “I wanted to have a normal high school experience and it didn’t feel like it was normal in Orlando.”
Gies has found normalcy at Springstead and the Eagles are happy to have him. Gies put Springstead on the scoreboard first as he found the top-left corner of the net with a kick with 6:55 remaining in the first half. Just over two minutes into the second half, Gies scored again to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
From there, Springstead sophomore goalkeeper Evan Serrano and the defense took care of the rest. Serrano came into the contest, allowing only 1.4 goals per game. After allowing a Wesley Chapel goal with just over 16 minutes remaining in the second half, Serrano held the Wildcats scoreless the rest of the way.
Serrano had plenty of help from what Coco called Springstead’s “back wall,” led by senior defender Pat Gayda. Although leading scorer Raul Maldonado (21 goals on the season) was held scoreless, Coco said the senior forward, who also was the kicker and punter for Springstead’s football team, played a key role in the victory.
“Raul’s been playing with an injured hamstring the last two games,” Coco said. “But he has gutted it out and been a big part of these wins.”
But the Eagles might need their strongest overall performance yet in the next round of the playoffs. New Smyrna Beach is 16-1-6 and the No. 1 seed in the Regional.
New Smyrna Beach advanced to the next round with a 4-1 victory against Cypress Creek on Tuesday night. The Barracudas’ only loss of the season came in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of state powerhouse Orlando Bishop Moore on Jan. 4. Over this season and the two prior to it, New Smyrna Beach has posted a 59-4-8 record.
