Freshman has big night as Gators advance in postseason

By Allen Etzer
Published in Sports on November 4, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Prior to Spring Creek's game against Lejeune on Monday evening, Linda Salter pulled freshman Gustavo Avalos aside and spoke with him about stepped up when his number is called.

It was. Injured striker Gio Avila watched from the sidelines, which left the position open for Avalos.

"There's some pressure on me to step up without Gio, but we're a good team so it's not just about one person," Avalos said.

A young freshman, Avalos became part of a big story and netted his first-ever hat trick (three goals) in Spring Creek's 6-1, second-round win over Lejeune in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A boys' soccer playoffs.

The fifth-seeded Gators travel to fourth-seeded East Carteret on Wednesday. Kickoff is 5 p.m.

"It doesn't feel very easy," said Salter, whose team has outscored the opposition 19-1 in the postseason.

"The guys are playing good right now. We had a few minor injuries, but the guys started and we pulled them off the field once we had the momentum going."

Avila was injured in practice. Team captain Marcos Castaneda injured his hamstring midway through the match. Salter hopes it tightened up due to the bone-chilling cold weather.

Spring Creek beat Lejeune 4-3 earlier this season, so Salter reviewed the game film and devised a gameplan.

"We knew they would be aggressive going toward the ball," Salter said. "They played well with spacing and everything. I thought we gave up a few easy goals the first game so we knew what to expect. What I saw today is kind of what we saw on tape."

The Devilpups played aggressive early on and possessed the ball for the first 10 minutes. They didn't attempt a shot on goal.

Spring Creek didn't panic.

The Gators knew if the defense played well, the offense would come.

"Coach told us to kind of hang back for the first 10 minutes and see what they got," senior Otto Binar said. "Once we saw where the weak spot was we just went after it."

Binar was the first to find the net for the Gators and that goal opened up the field for the Gators to add five more. Binar finished with two goals, and Juan Vega added a goal to go with Avalos's hat trick.

Vega added three assists to his tally, while Noeh Avila had one and Hugo Zavala Gil and Binar had one each.

Avalos has a strong shot that Salter calls one of the hardest on the team. And he's an accurate finisher as well. Binar, one of the most prolific scorers in school history, admitted Avalos has a stronger shot than even he has.

But the freshman's best goal occurred when completed the hat trick. Juan Vega lifted a free kick from the right corner and Avalos ran on to it and headed it into the goal for a rare goal with the noggin for a relatively short Gators team.

"We're creating opportunities for each other and getting touches back and forth and we're playing well," Binar said. "I didn't see a lot of kickball (long balls down the field) today which makes me happy. When I see kickball I get mad and frustrated. So I was happy for that."