It was Gilmer against the world, and the Bobcats answered with, “why not us?”
It was the rallying cry after their opening round win of the state soccer playoffs, and it rang out into the Fayetteville sky once again last Thursday.
GHS traveled to take on No. 1 seeded Whitewater (15-3) in the second round, and the hometown Wildcats soon found themselves backed into a corner.
WHS answered the No. 16 seeded Cats’ initial strike, but a second Gilmer goal followed. GHS withstood the Wildcats dire attempts at an equalizing goal, but it never came. The Cats denied Whitewater over the final 40 minutes for a 2-1 program-defying win.
“I told the boys before the game, ‘Not a single person is giving us a chance to win today. It’s us against the entire state of Georgia,’” said head coach Taylor Johnstone.
“This was another huge monumental step we’ve taken this year as a program. I’m very proud of the boys and their effort and the character they showed during the game.”
Whitewater entered the match as the hottest team in Class 3A. The Wildcats were 8-0 in region play while outscoring opponents 44-0. They were riding a 14-game winning streak and enjoyed shutout wins in 11 of its previous 12 matches.
That scoreless streak ended 24 minutes into the game. Striker Liam Engel’s high pressure on the Wildcats’ left back allowed teammate Angel Garcia to fly by and take the ball. Garcia scooted a pass to Ronald Cuz inside the box, and he had time to turn and shoot without any contact. Cuz’s 14-yard shot deflected off a WHS defender and over the keeper, who was 5 yards off the goal line.
“We wanted to press them and thought we could force some turnovers, which led to our first goal,” Johnstone said. “We knew we wanted to press and that our midfield matched up well against theirs, which was a strength of theirs as well.
“We tried to play the ball up through the midfield, but couldn’t get a good possession game going. That was OK, and we just kicked back and played defense pretty much and tried to attack and counter. It ended up being good for us because we had them sucked up the field from the way we were playing defense. That allowed us to counter a little bit.”
Gilmer’s four shots before Cuz’s goal were all from distance and only one was on target. Meanwhile, WHS had four shots as well ahead of its goal, and two were saved by GHS goalkeeper Talyn Curtis.
With just over 11 minutes left in the half, Brayner Ortiz sent a cross into the box from the right boundary. Cuz was there at the back post, but his 3-yard header was saved.
A WHS corner kick allowed the Wildcats to tie the score. The corner was originally deflected by Curtis, who was knocked down by a Wildcat on the save. The rebound was scored from 8 yards with 8:35 on the clock.
Two minutes after Whitewater’s equalizer, Gilmer went ahead for good. From deep in WHS territory, Ortiz’s throw-in found Daniel Vargas, who passed to an unmarked Calvin Lian. He took one touch before smashing a 30-yard screamer from the left wing into the upper-right corner of the net.
“It would have been easy to drop our heads when they tied it, 1-1,” said Johnstone. “We responded well, and that was something we talked about during the game ... not if they score, but when they score ... ‘How are we going to respond?’ I’d say we responded very well.”
Gilmer’s five shots in the second half were all from range, and three were off the mark. The Bobcats handled Whitewater’s continual attack. During the second half, WHS blasted 14 of its 19 shots on the night. Curtis saved all nine that were on target, which included a 14-yard shot in the waning seconds of play.
“I’m very proud of them. I was impressed with our fan turnout. All the fans who drove down there, it meant a lot to us and the boys as well to have some home support,” Johnstone said.
Gilmer is 14-3 on the season and its Elite Eight match at No. 8 Northwest Whitfield (15-2) was played Tuesday evening.