PREP BOYS' SOCCER: Gators find right lineup, edge Eagles 2-1

By Aviel Smolka
Published in Sports on September 6, 2018 5:50 AM

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By AVIEL SMOLKA

asmolka@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek, through its first seven games, has been looking for a magic lineup.

The Gators may have found it in their 2-1, come-from-behind victory over county rival Rosewood on a hot and sticky Tuesday afternoon.

The Gators started out sluggish and the Eagles capitalized by scoring a goal in the fourth minute.

Geovanni Abrill hit a corner kick into the box and Patrick Jones knocked the ball into the net.

"We started slow, we weren't ourselves," Spring Creek head coach Jeremy Houser said. "Once we found our groove we were able to claw ourselves back."

Even though Spring Creek failed to score a goal in the first half, it stayed focused and continued to apply pressure.

The Gators (4-3-0 overall) outworked the Eagles by keeping possession and getting numerous 50-50 balls.

In the 12th minute, Jose Guadalupe Reynaga Rivas broke through Rosewood's defense only to kick the ball off the post.

Then in the 33rd minute Rivas kicked another ball off the post.

"You can take 100 shots and score one goal," Houser said. "We just had to persevere, work closer to the goal and pound the ball in."

Despite Spring Creek's best efforts, Rosewood led 1-0 at halftime.

In the 53rd minute Spring Creek finally tied the game when Rivas passed the ball inside the box to Kevin Avila, who kicked it past the Rosewood goalie.

"We did a lot of chasing the ball around," Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "They did a better job of moving the ball in the midfield."

Spring Creek took a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute.

Jason Omar Turcios-Rodriguez wove through multiple Rosewood defenders and worked his way into the box where he kicked the ball into the net.

The Eagles were unable to get anything going offensively to tie the game and Gators held them off for the last 18 minutes.

The Gators won their fourth straight game after an 0-3 start.

"The first three games we were trying the find the right lineup," Houser said. "I think we've found our starting lineup and we're looking forward to our conference games."

Spring Creek plays host to South Lenoir today, kick off is at 5p.m. Rosewood (3-3-1) has five days off before playing Hobbton next Monday afternoon.