PORT ORANGE — Exhausted after 100 minutes of physicality, Jose "Chelis" Fuentes walked toward the sideline and told his coach, Chris Dowdell, he was unsure if he could convert the decisive penalty kick. With a 35-year district title drought on the line, Drew Breitenstein stepped up instead.
With a short run-up and a powerful right-footed stroke, Breitenstein blasted the winner past Spruce Creek goalkeeper Jack McDevitt and became an instant hero in DeLand soccer lore.
The Bulldogs (16-3-0) converted all five of their penalty kicks to defeat the rival Hawks in Friday's District 2-5A championship game. The two sides were deadlocked, 1-1, after 80 minutes of regulation and two, 10-minute overtime periods.
"The first day and every day since tryouts, we've been after this," said Dowdell, a DeLand High alumnus. "It's been a personal quest for me, and these guys have bought into that. They have really worked their tails off to try and get here.
"The faith (Fuentes) had in his teammate is amazing."
DeLand will host Jacksonville Sandalwood in the regional quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Spruce Creek (22-2-1) goes on the road to face Ocala Forest in the opening round.
Asked about taking part in a home playoff game, Dowdell replied, "That sounds fantastic."
Fuentes stung the Hawks with just 2:02 remaining in the first half, wriggling himself free in the box and bending a left-footed shot just inside the far post. It was only DeLand's second shot on goal to that point.
"Oh my God. I'm not even sure who gave me the pass, but I'm thankful for that," Fuentes said. "Once I saw it hit the net and started celebrating with my team, it was the best moment ever."
After failing to capitalize on a handful of free kicks, Spruce Creek finally found an equalizer with 15 minutes to play. Quinten Vansteenkiste tracked down a ball played over the Bulldogs' back line and lashed it past keeper Jaime Lopez.
Of the 10 goals DeLand has surrendered all season, Spruce Creek is responsible for half of them.
Neither side generated a particularly threatening chance in golden-goal overtime, prompting penalty kicks with everything on the line.
The first three shooters — Vansteenkiste and DeLand's duo of Alex Garcia and Fernando Delgado — made no mistake. DeLand gained the advantage when Spruce Creek captain Tate Grant pulled his shot wide left.
Andrew Rose and Eddie Salinas applied pressure for DeLand, while Sam Abraham and Branton Saunders kept Spruce Creek alive. That set the stage for Breitenstein, who is also the placekicker for the Bulldogs' football team.
He had plenty of success splitting the uprights in the fall, and struck the winning goal with confidence.
"I aimed for the side netting. I wanted to bring it home," Breitenstein said.
SEABREEZE 2, TAYLOR 0: Defending Player of the Year Franco Perez scored two goals, and the Sandcrabs got revenge in the District 6-3A championship. The Wildcats handed Seabreeze their first, and only, loss in last year's title game.
Seabreeze (13-2-4) welcomes Inverness Citrus for a first-round matchup. Taylor (13-5-3) heads to Gainesville Eastside.
"We got the one thing we didn't get last year," Sandcrabs coach Nate Murphy said. "I feel like I let the players down last year by not getting them that. So it's definitely sweet."
RIDGEVIEW 0, MATANZAS 0 (3-1 PKs): Two days after shocking top-seeded Ponte Vedra in penalty kicks, the Pirates (13-7-0) fell in the same fashion to Orange Park Ridgeview in the District 4-3A final.
Brandt Herron made 10 saves for the Pirates, who will head to Jacksonville Paxon for regional quarterfinal action. Since the midseason break, Matanzas has won eight of its past 10 matches.
"It's unbelievable," Pirates coach Rich Weber said. "We lost 13 seniors, so it was a struggle early on. … We had to grind Monday, play penalty kicks Wednesday and then again tonight. They are a big possession team and we totally took it away. We did everything exceptionally."
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