Cape slams Gate in PK shootout
Junior goalkeeper Daniel Villamil made nine saves in regulation and two overtimes, but none were as crucial or as spectacular as the one he made on the final penalty kick Tuesday night.
Villamil dove to his right and smothered the ball to send the Cape Coral Seahawks to the Region 4A-3 finals after a 2-1 shootout victory over Golden Gate at Dave Warkentin Field. Cape won the five-shot shootout 4-3 to reach the regional finals for the first time in school history.
“I was very jubilant,” said Villamil, who was swarmed beside the south net by teammates and Cape students who rushed onto the field to join the celebration. “I just tried to focus on the penalty kicks.”
The Seahawks (22-1-3) are 2-for-2 in penalty kick shootouts this postseason. They defeated Ida Baker two weeks ago in the quarterfinals of the district tournament, also 2-1 (and 4-3 in PKs).
The win keeps the Seahawks on their home field for the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday against Lakewood Ranch, which eliminated George Steinbrenner 1-0 Tuesday night.
“We are happy to be playing at home,” said Seahawks coach Aldo Nardiello. “We had a nice crowd of students tonight, which was good to see. We will do our best to represent our district.”
Junior Caio Amaral put the Seahawks on the scoreboard first with a swift kick at the top of the penalty box just seconds before the end of the first half. After a throw-in that was batted around in and outside the box, Ryan Herold sent the ball to the middle where Amaral finished it off.
Golden Gate (21-2-3) tied the game at 1-1 with a goal in the eighth minute of the second half. With the win ad their backs, the Titans fired seven shots at goal, six of those saved by Villamil.
In the second overtime, Villamil made another crucial save on a rainbow shot that he just tipped over the crossbar at the peak of his vertical leap to help send the game to PKs.
Paolo Acosta, Amaral and Ben Feakins were the Seahawks’ first three PK shooters, each scoring past Titans keeper Mauricio Ramos.
The Titans’ third shooter hit the left post for the first miss.
Ronald Lind’s shot was denied by Ramos and the Titans converted their fourth PK to tie the shootout at 3-3.
Up stepped senior Andrew Gonzalez to take the Seahawks’ fifth and final PK. He cooly sent the ball inside the left post for a 4-3 edge. Villamil’s only save in the shootout preserved the margin.
“That was my first PK this season,” said Gonzalez, who was stellar all night on the defensive back line. “I try to not be too emotional about them. I used to take PKs a lot in club soccer. I’ve managed to do well under those pressure situations.”