LAND O’LAKES — The chant "Let’s Go Breeze" had a dual meeting Tuesday, neither of them good for Sunlake.
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It was the exuberant message from fans of visiting Daytona Beach Seabreeze throughout the second half, and it described the prevalent wind stream that benefited the Sand Crabs, who ended Sunlake’s season with a 2-0 victory in the 3A-Region 2 boys soccer final.
The Seahawks (28-2-2) saw their streak of trips to the state semis end at four.
"We played our worst game of the season, but credit Seabreeze for that," said Sunlake head coach Sam Koleduk.
Seabreeze lost its district final to Pierson Taylor, the same team that knocked the Sand Crabs out of the playoffs the last two seasons. But that was the Crabs’ lone defeat, which they avenged in the region semis, and they were every bit the worthy opponent Tuesday.
"We haven’t played anybody who was as physical to the ball as them, or played as hard as them," Koleduk said.
Seabreeze (21-1-2) played carefully in the first half, as Sunlake had the northerly wind and its back but could not take advantage.
Sunlake’s Tariq Michael, Sabi Restrepo and Nathan Oparka created consistent possession but there were few serious chances. Cameron Gartland had several throw-ins on goal but they none required a save. Seabreeze was limited to mostly long-range efforts though Will Crotty’s blast almost put the visitors ahead.
In the second half, with the wind, Seabreeze’s leading scorer Franco Perez took advantage of a throw-in big time. Sunlake goalie Matt Julian tried to catch it but dropped in for the own goal om the 45th minute. Had Julian just let the ball into the net it would not have counted.
"To be honest, I’m always throwing it at the goalie. It really worked out tonight," said Perez, who has 24 goals. "We thought if we could hold them off in the first half with the wind, we could take advantage in the second half. Work the counter attack."
Sunlake posted several tremendous attacks in the next 10 minutes but then allowed Perez to break in clean in on the counter, and the junior pounded it home for 2-0.
The Seahawks were visibly down, and although Trevon Michael, Jake Rodriguez, Grant Presson and Jacob Perusek produced high effort the rest of the way it wasn’t enough. Michael hit the post with 15 minutes left.
Seabreeze standout defender Joost Groenendaal had several big clearances and Division I prospect Josh Tepper provided lockdown defense. Of their 13 shots only two were on net for the Seahawks.
"They were very strong, very physical. We weren’t used to someone being around the ball like that," Koleduk said.
The Sand Crabs are headed to the state semis, which they will host, for the first time in 19 years.
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