Late goal lifts Jags to upset #2 Darton State

Late goals lift No. 10 Jaguars over No. 2 Darton

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Brayan Rodriguez and Evans Ikpeoha scored dazzling goals in the final 13 minutes and Georgia Perimeter College stunned conference-leading Darton State College 2-1 Saturday at Jaguar Field in Dunwoody.

Trailing 1-0 from the second minute of the game, the Jaguars, ranked 10th in the NJCAA coaches’ poll, dominated the second half and most of the first in upsetting the nation’s second-ranked team.

Rodriguez and T.J. Carter teamed up to tie the game in the 78th minute with a highlight-reel play, and in the 87th Ikpeoha took a pass from Kioki Hutchings and booted the game-winner through heavy traffic.

“The boys worked real hard—they came to play,” Jaguar head coach Marc Zagara said. “They not only played a good game against a good team, they played a good game against a good team and beat them. So, we’re moving in the right direction.”

With the victory—Georgia Perimeter’s sixth straight—the Jaguars improved to 10-2-2 overall and 5-1 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, moving into first place in the conference, a half-game ahead of Darton (11-2-1, 5-1). They also exacted a measure of retribution for a 4-1 road loss at Darton in August.

Saturday was a defensive masterpiece by the GPC midfielders, back line and goalkeeper Kyle Johnston. They stopped the league’s third leading scorer, Alejandro Garcia, and top scorer, Darwin Espinal. Espinal had racked up three of the Cavaliers’ four goals against GPC in August.

Still, Darton—playing without league-leading assist man Jorge Chirinos—showed its pedigree (three-straight GCAA championships, NJCAA semifinalist) and opened Saturday’s match with a quick goal in the second minute by David Lazarof. Espinal had a hand in it, sending a pass from the left end line to Lazarof in the penalty box, and the big defender blasted the ball into the right corner of the goal.

Throughout the remainder of the half, the Jaguars displayed an excellent possession game, winning the battle of the midfield and building good combinations in the attack zone.

The Jags decidedly dominated the second half, possessing the ball even more. Whereas the Cavaliers sent seven shots on goal in the first period, they managed only three in the latter half.

With 12:12 remaining, Rodriguez tied it up with a stunner, heading in a pass that Carter sent from the right corner into the box. Running in straight on the goal, Rodriguez leapt high and headed the ball into the goal from nine yards out.

“T.J. started it,” Zagara said. “He won a 50-50 ball at midfield, had a good run down the line, beat the guy with speed, turned the corner and sent a perfect cross into the box. And Brayan looked like a World Cup striker with that header. You can practice that play all day in practice with an open net and not get it like that.”

With only 2:46 left on the clock, Hutchings and Ikpeoha won the game with another eye-opener. From the left side, Hutchings passed the ball into a crowd in the penalty box.

Ikpeoha trapped it, performed some fancy right-left footwork and sent it, left-footed, through two defenders and past Darton goalkeeper Adam Cahill.

The Jaguars totaled 13 shots on goal, with Cahill earning 11 saves. Johnston, who leads the GCAA with a 0.52 goals against average—which is eighth nationally—saved nine of Darton’s 10 SOG’s.

If GPC and Darton State end the regular season tied atop the GCAA, Darton wins the tiebreaker for top seed in the conference tournament Nov. 2-3 in Albany. The tiebreaker is head-to-head goal differential in the teams’ home-and-away series, which Darton wins 5-2.

Photo by Gerald Moulder