BOYS' SOCCER: Avalos' 4-goal outing propels Gators into 3rd round

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 9, 2016 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

LOUISBURG -- Set the pace.

Work hard.

Don't give up.

And oh yeah, look for No. 7.

Spring Creek head coach Mario Aguilar Jr. couldn't have asked for a better performance from his team Tuesday evening.

The Gators established an up-tempo pace, displayed a solid work ethic and moved the ball with precision during their 6-2 trouncing of Louisburg in second-round action of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A boys' soccer playoffs.

The fifth-seeded Gators (16-3-1 overall) travel to top-seeded Wallace-Rose Hill on Thursday. It's the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 2013.

Kickoff is 6 p.m.

"Most importantly, they all had fun and that's the first thing I tell them before they walk onto the field," Aguilar Jr. said.

No one had more fun than Gustavo Avalos -- who, by the way, wears No. 7. "Tavo" ignited a four-goal outburst over a 21-minute period that demoralized the Warriors.

Louisburg (10-6-0) constantly got "sucked in" to chasing the ball throughout the opening half. SC's one-touch passes coaxed three Warrior defenders to converge on the play. The panicky posture opened holes for a Gator offense that easily used its speed and creativity on goal.

A sophomore striker, Tavo ripped a right-footed bullet toward the lower right corner of the net off a throw-in near the Louisburg bench. Senior captain Elicio Hernandez stabbed at the ball, which bounced over his boot and past keeper Jeremiah Calamaco, who dove too late to stop the shot.

Alex Avila produced his third goal of the playoffs -- an unassisted mark barely three minutes after Tavo's strike. In the 18th minute, Tavo received a beautiful one-touch midfield pass from Flavio Mejia, and easily tapped in the mid-range shot.

"The two quick goals, I think, really caught us off guard and both of them I thought were mistakes we made and mistakes they capitalized on," LHS head coach Chris Cannady said.

Josh Beckerman and Jose Reynaga hooked up for the fourth goal that occurred when Calamaco came too far off his line.

Louisburg (10-6-0) increased its physical play in the second half and pushed its defense forward to force SC into mistakes, and develop some scoring chances on goal.

The strategy paid off in the 60th minute when Hernandez converted a penalty kick. Teammate Riggan Faulkner scored in the 62nd minute that energized the bench and Warrior faithful.

"The two goals were my goalie and my defense not having communication," Aguilar Jr. said. "We can basically say we just gave them those two goals."

Play became chippy from that point and led to constant stoppage by the midfield ref. The teams combined for 24 second-half fouls and 35 overall, that included four yellow cards.

Avalos iced the outcome with back-to-back goals in the 67th and 69th minutes. He boosted his season total to an area-leading 37 goals and helped propel the Gators into the third round of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.