Senior midfielder Adriano Garcia Gomez completed with a pair of objectives and netted an help, whereas eighth-grader Ronaldo Palma Martinez buried the game-clinching tally in extra time as No. 27 East Boston overcame a three-goal deficit to stun No. 6 Excel, 4-3, within the Div. 4 Round of 32.
“It even goes back to when we played (Excel) earlier in the season,” mentioned East Boston coach Jayson Smith. “They beat us 5-0… then, just the continuous work that the kids have put in. Those guys show up everyday, and they make the decision that they’re going to work hard, that they’re going to get better everyday. That’s really our goal, is to just keep on getting better than we were the day before. They answered the call every day. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They’re fantastic kids, they really are.”
For nearly all of the sport, East Boston (8-9-2) discovered itself chasing. The Jets received off to a rocky begin, as Excel standout Mohamed Mehaya buried two consecutive objectives in a three-minute span. Just moments into play, East Boston was trailing 2-0. Excel would lengthen its result in 3-0, as Jaime Cortez sniped a shot within the 18th minute. By that time, issues had been wanting bleak for the Jets’ postseason hopes.
Then, lightning struck twice within the area of a seconds for East Boston, as Helio Spinola collected a ball in visitors, then deposited it within the Excel web to chop it to 3-1. Garcia Gomez netted his first tally shortly thereafter within the thirty fourth minute, as East Boston shaved its deficit to 3-2 on the break.
Later on within the 69th minute, Garcia Gomez determined to attempt his luck with a prayer shot from over 30 yards out. The ball hung within the air for what felt like an eternity, then gracefully fell previous the attain of the Excel goalkeeper and into the twine for the tying rating. After a heated debate as as to if the objective ought to depend, which even featured a short video replay for affirmation, the referees determined to have it stand. In stunning trend, the 2 faculties had been sure for extra time.
“Nobody believed in us to begin with,” Garcia Gomez mentioned. “We have a very young team. Only three seniors, one of which it’s his first season. All I can say is that I’m proud of this team. We didn’t have a winning record. We were ranked really low, and we even lost to Excel, 5-0, in the second game of the season. But the boys showed up. That’s all I care about. The boys having pride in themselves, and coming out.”
With an opportunity to finish issues off a nook kick within the further session, Garcia Gomez hooked a ball into the field. It skipped off Palma Martinez into the online, and the Jets stormed the sector in pandemonium.
“It happened so fast,” Palma Martinez mentioned. “I can hardly talk because my voice (is gone) from so much yelling. But when I saw (the ball), it came in kind of low… I knew I just had to touch it, and it would go in. When it went in, I don’t even know. I lost all my words.”
East Boston will face No. 11 Lunenburg within the Round of 16 subsequent, trying to proceed its Cinderella run.
“(Lunenburg will) be ready to go,” mentioned Smith. “Everyone’s goal now is one game at a time. We’ve got to be ready. That’s about it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com