Soccer: Knights respond to down Trojans

OAKWOOD -- Johnson boys soccer coach Brian Shirley had one big goal in mind when he took over the Knights program this season.

"When I first met the guys, they said they hadn't played with enough heart," Shirley said. "That's what I wanted to instill."

After Tuesday, no one can accuse the Knights of lacking heart this season.

Trailing North Hall 2-0 with just over 16 minutes remaining, Johnson responded with three goals down the stretch to pull out a 3-2 win over the Trojans in Oakwood.

The victory kept the Knights (11-3, 6-2 Region 7-AAA) at the forefront of the 7-AAA playoff race and represents their second straight come-from-behind victory after erasing a 1-0 deficit at Chestatee on March 25.

"We just keep our heads up, keep fighting," Shirley said. "We knew this was a big game; and the guys weren't going to let anything get in their way."

Johnson's roadblock appeared pretty sizable with 30 minutes left to play, however, after North Hall's Marcos Llanas struck to put the visitors ahead 2-0. But with time draining away, the Knights used a big break to turn the tide.

Winning a throw-in deep in Trojans (8-5-1, 5-4) territory, Johnson's Chris Henry stepped up and hurled the ball into the North Hall penalty area -- the throw carried to the Trojans goalmouth, where several defenders and attackers converged, knocking each other over in the process.

The ball slid into the North Hall goal, and referees signaled that it was indeed a Johnson score -- despite vehement protests from the Trojans players and bench that the ball had not been touched (in soccer, a throw-in must be touched by a player before it can be ruled a goal).

"I don't know who got credit for it," Shirley said. "But we had had several opportunities in the first half that we couldn't capitalize on."

The goal sparked the Knights offense, which began to throw everything forward, searching for the equalizer. Three minutes later, Johnson found it, as Ruben Castro got behind the North Hall defense and slid a 16-yard shot past goalkeeper Daniel Powers.

At 2-2, the game was up for grabs -- though North Hall didn't panic, continuing to push forward through Llanas and Miguel Morales.

But poor marking in defense proved the Trojans' undoing.

With just over four minutes remaining, Johnson's Gabriel Carillo found plenty of space and time to gather a pass 35 yards from the North Hall goal and pick out teammate Juan Morfin with a defense-splitting pass.

Morfin gathered the ball behind two Trojans, charged forward and slotted a 10-yard shot past Powers for the game-clinching strike.

"This was huge," Shirley said. "We knew we'd be in a hole if we weren't successful here tonight."

While the Knights remain tied for first in 7-AAA, the outcome does put North Hall in a tough position -- needing a win in its final region contest Thursday at Gainesville and several other factors to fall right to reach the postseason.

With the way the Trojans started Tuesday, it didn't appear that would be the case at the final whistle.

Trojans midfielder Brandon Duarte staked North Hall to a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes into the match, blistering a 30-yard volley into the Johnson net.

The sophomore midfielder ran on to a bouncing ball just past midfield and unleashed a one-touch shot that sailed into the upper right corner of the Knights goal.

The strike came against the run of play, as Johnson had opened the match well, but it fired the visitors, who began to win control of midfield through the play of Roger Ponce and Francisco Avila.

Johnson didn't back down, creating several shots for Vicente Trujillo and Morfin, but their efforts seemed destined to be wasted after Llanas' goal for the Trojans with 30:01 left to play.

But once the Knights grabbed momentum after their first strike, they wouldn't let go, fighting for every loose ball with midfielders Chris Henry and Ariel Mejia. And once Castro equalized, the Knights were well on their way to victory.

Johnson travels to take on Chestatee on Thursday in a region match-up before taking on West Hall in a rivalry battle for the Northeast Georgia Mountains Cup championship at 8 p.m. Friday at Chestatee.