Unbeaten through 13 soccer games this season, Santa Fe High knew facing Gainesville High would be a different kind of test. The Raiders were right.
Winners of seven in a row and scoring a shade over six goals per match during that stretch, the Raiders were held scoreless Friday night, keeping their undefeated record intact, but merely managing a 0-0 tie with the Hurricanes.
“I think we were a little nervous going into this one, knowing the level of play that was needed out of us,” said Santa Fe coach Pedro Rodrigues.
Class 2A Santa Fe (12-0-2) and Class 4A Gainesville (6-1-3) both started off slowly. The first scoring chance didn’t come until the 22-minute mark in the first half when, from the right side of the field, Raiders forward Zack Martin drove a low shot to the far post that was turned away by Hurricanes goalkeeper Dare Harris.
Harris knocked down a direct kick by Santa Fe’s Dillon Giambrone with seven minutes left in the first half to keep the match scoreless heading into the break.
“We needed to do a better job attacking,” Gainesville coach Basil Benjamin said. “And we gave up too many chances. We play in a really tough district and usually don’t give up that many chances, so kudos to them.
But on a damp and cool night, Gainesville High warmed up about midway through the second half.
Just inside the 23-minute mark, Hurricanes junior Pascal Coulibaly drove a shot from 17 yards out that penetrated the Raiders’ defense and was deftly corralled by a sprawling Lake Browning, Santa Fe’s keeper. With under 17 minutes left, GHS sophomore Wenderle Preservil fired a low, hard free kick from just outside the box that Browning again laid out to turn away.
“I thought the goalkeepers were brilliant tonight — theirs and ours, and I thought that was the difference in the game,” Benjamin said.
Santa Fe’s Alec Grieve mustered the game’s final scoring opportunity — a half volley at the 10-minute mark that the 'Canes' Harris dove to the right post to save.
For the game, GHS had seven shots on goal. Santa Fe recorded five.
“This is the kind of game where we wanted to see how competitive our boys could truly be,” Rodrigues said. “I think tonight we passed that test. We’re looking forward to playing them again, for sure.”