Indiana takes 92 boys ODP National Championshop
Published 3/9/2008 1:00:43 PM by staff from soccermogul
In Saturday's semifinal against the North Texas 92s, Indiana found themselves trailing early on, but the side from the Hoosier State composed themselves and scored three unanswered goals to win 3-1 in the 2008 US Youth Soccer ODP National Championship. In the final on Sunday, Indiana once again surrendered an early goal and by the fourth minute was trailing 1-0. They quickly answered when Bryce Rockwell-Ashton netted an equalizer one minute later to tie the match at one. But right before the break, Virginia's Dylan Bowman found the back of the net in the 43rd minute and Indiana headed to halftime trailing 2-1. That's how it stayed until the 80th minute when Eriq Zavaleta converted with less than a minute remaining in second half stoppage time, forcing the match into overtime. Rockwell-Ashton set up the goal by placing a header perfectly at Zavaleta's feet to set him up nicely.
Once in the extra frame, Virginia nearly drew ahead in the 85th minute. Following a hard tackle inside the box, a penalty kick was awarded. Noah Merlin stepped up to the spot but his effort hit the left post. The match remained scoreless until the 105th minute. That was when Zavaleta struck again. The Virginia 'keeper came up with what appeared to be an easy save but was unable to collar the ball. As the rebound popped free, it fell at Zavaleta's feet and he converted what turned out to be the game-winner.
But scoring goals in big games is nothing new for Eriq Zavaleta. "In high school season, I had 25 goals my freshman year," Zavaletta said. "I had the game-winner in sectionals and regionals also in the same fashion, in the last 50 seconds. I'm used to it. Pressure doesn't get to me. I just want to be ready."
Following the 3-2 victory, Indiana head coach Kelly Findley was obviously quite pleased with the morning's result. "A lot of things went out way," Findley said. "We gave up the early goal and scored again within five minutes. They had a penalty kick that hit the post in overtime, so we had a lot of things go in our favor today. The guys really responded well to each other as a group. We showed a lot of character not just to come back but to win it in overtime."
Findley did notice the similarities between yesterday's win and today's. "I think we started a little bit slow," he said. "I don't know if it's because it's a new group, a new atmosphere or their first time being in a national championship. Once we started, we grew in confidence as the game went on. That was the important thing. I think we were nervous to start and a little tight. We gave away a goal and stepped up. That's a testament to the guys' ability and character."
Zavaleta also had a goal in yesterday's win, which ironically enough, was also assisted on by Rockwell-Ashton.
"He (Zavaleta) has just got a lot of qualities as a player that are going to make him successful," Findley said. "He's got great size to him and has good feet for a big guy. He can score goals and is a smart player. I thought he was fantastic. He's not a guy that we thought we would get that much production out of but I think he really turned it on."
Even though his team was trailing late in regulation 2-1, Zavaleta and his teammates never lost faith.
"I figured that until the last whistle blows, it's not over," he said. "We were pressing up hard and had to put one away. I had done it before and wasn't worried. As soon as Bryce (Rockwell) headed me that ball, I knew it was going in." He also realizes the significance of today's win. "We're the first Indiana team to win it I believe," Zavaleta stated. "We put so much work into it. Even when we were down 2-1 in the first half, we knew that we were the better team and thought that we would pull it out.
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