Sophomore Guillermo Bistrain y Loaiza scored a game-winning goal just two minutes into overtime to help the Fort Mill boys’ soccer team defeat their hosts and crosstown rival Nation Ford Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets entered the pair of five-minute overtime halves tied 1-1 with the Falcons. Nation Ford’s Luke Marin opened the scoring with an audacious 30-yard strike in the seventh minute, but Fort Mill’s Bjorn Colvet equalized for the visitors in the 44th minute when he got on the lucky end of a free kick just after halftime.
And it didn’t take Fort Mill long to capitalize in overtime. The Jackets slung in a free kick from the wing, which bobbled past the mob of black and white shirts in the middle of the penalty box before landing at Bistrain y Loaiza, who promptly headed the ball into the roof of the net, setting off wild celebrations on the pitch.
“I wanted to go the second post, in case there was a deflection,” Bistrain y Loaiza said. “I saw the ball coming towards me, I aimed for the goal, and fortunately, it went in… It’s so exciting. I got caught up in the moment, just savoring every moment.”
Bistrain y Loaiza was a late substitute into the game, coming on to replace tired legs. But he made perfect use of his cameo, helping his team improve to 4-4-2 overall and secure a fourth win on the season, and crucially, a 2-0 start to Region 3-5A play.
Jackets’ head coach Mark Seren said he dipped deep into his bench to replace his tiring starters, and that they performed beyond his expectations.
“On any given night, I think our conference play will be one-goal games, two-goal games, it’ll be close,” he said. “Preparedness, we talked to the kids at halftime about limiting mistakes, grind it out, dig deep. And they did.”
And they were made to work for every inch. Nation Ford, now 8-5 and 2-1 in Region3-5A jumped out to an early lead just minutes into the first half when Marin hit a thunderbolt of a strike from 30-yards out and beat Fort Mill goalkeeper Grayson Ainsley at the near post.
Jackets’ midfielder Devyn Arnold had a couple decent chances on goal, but his shots were too high to threaten Falcons’ keeper Ryan Halas.
Seren said he told his team at halftime to make better decisions on the wings, which helped pile on more pressure in the second half.
But it was two set piece free kicks that ultimately put Fort Mill on top. Matthew Jeranek slung in a free kick just four minutes into the second half that Nation Ford failed to clear, and Colvet was there at the back post to poke the ball past Halas.
The two teams traded blows throughout the second half. Nation Ford’s Noah Lloyd shanked a 77th minute shot just wide left of the far post, and the two teams entered extra time deadlocked.
It only took a couple of minutes before Fort Mill won another free kick in dangerous territory, and the cross found Bistrain y Loaiza with more than enough space to head the ball in.
Falcons’ coach Kenny Halas felt disappointed that his team couldn’t clear the set pieces.
“We’ll work on marking guys better,” he said. “We didn’t execute when we had our chances… these games will all be on transition moments. Who executes the moment is the victor. They executed their chance, and we didn’t.”
Both teams will continue to work through their region schedules in the next couple weeks. Fort Mill next hosts Clover March 30 before traveling to Boiling Springs April 12. Nation Ford will play on the road for the next two games, including a match in Spartanburg against Boiling Springs March 30 and against Rock Hill April 12.
