Maclay Boys Soccer Falls in State Semifinals on Penalty Kicks

On Feb. 10, the Maclay boys soccer team faced off against Williston in the FHSAA 2A regional semi-finals on Frank Shaw Field in Tallahassee. After a commanding 8-0 win in the first round against Branford, the Marauders were hoping to carry that momentum into their match against the Red Devils. Despite a valiant effort, Maclay fell to Williston in penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation.

As the match began, it quickly became apparent that the deciding factor would be which defense broke first. Both teams were having trouble putting meaningful runs together and relying mostly on set pieces. The Red Devils struck first off of a free kick as the Maclay goalie misjudged the bounce and watched it go over is head and into the back of the net.

Shortly after going up 1-0 the Red Devils expanded their lead off of a corner kick with 10 minutes left in the first half going up 2-0. Despite falling behind 2–0, Maclay kept its composure and quickly responded after Williston’s second goal, as Zach Ghazvini slipped a short shot past the goalkeeper to cut the deficit to one heading into halftime.

After 30 minutes of back-and-forth action in the second half, the Marauders equalized on a Santi Nunez corner kick, converted with a header from Reid Roberts. With the score knotted at 2–2 after regulation, Maclay and Williston advanced to two 10-minute periods of extra time. Both teams could not score after 20 minutes of extra time leaving the result up to penalty kicks. Following several rounds of penalty kicks, and crucial saves from Maclay’s Max Colon, Williston made a pivotal save before burying the final kick to seal the victory.