A late header by Michael Hernandez Ruiz gave Simley a 1-0 victory over Cretin-Derham Hall in the Section 3AA boys soccer final Tuesday night and its first state tournament berth since 2009.
A scrappy, free kick filled affair was goalless until the game’s 68th minute when a long ball into the Raiders’ box was guided on goal by Hernandez Ruiz to punch the Spartans’ ticket to U.S. Bank Stadium.
Simley head coach David Albornoz said his team was resilient on the pitch and that his team achieved something special.
“No one believed in them,” Albornoz said. “Look at them now.”
For the first time in 16 years the Spartans are on their way to state after a windy, rain-filled night at Spartan Stadium.
An early foul on the Raiders gave Simley’s Luis Ramirez Reyes the opportunity to whip one into the box. Ramirez Reyes’ ball flashed across the box, but no Spartan was able to get a touch.
With 25:30 left in the first half, Raiders sophomore midfielder Colin Hafenbrack earned a free kick for the Raiders 10 yards into the Spartans’ half. William Roedler lofted the ball deep into the box, which found the head of Raiders senior defender Luke Hilger, whose flick was deflected on goal but cleared off the line.
Set pieces continued to play an integral role in generating offense for both teams in the first 40 minutes.
A Simley goal kick that traveled three quarters of the pitch bounced into the CDH box and found the foot of Ramirez Reyes. He controlled it and laid it off to Hernandez Ruiz, who slotted it past Raiders sophomore Lewis Zweber. However, the far side linesman ruled the play offside.
Albornoz said it was a good goal in his eyes.
“There is no offside on goal kicks, period,” Albornoz said. “So that should have counted. But one of the things I told the boys: we’re resilient.”
A sleek surface led to a sloppy, physical and scoreless first half that finished without an official shot on goal.
With 27:20 to play in regulation, Halfenbrack found himself free at the top of the box and slashed one towards the bottom corner, forcing a kick save from Spartans goalkeeper Dylan Gonzalez.
The Raiders’ pressure continued as CDH kept it almost exclusively in the Simley half for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
The Spartans weathered the storm, literally and figuratively, and with just over 10 minutes to play found the back of the net from a set piece.
Hernandez Ruiz towered over the Raiders’ defense and headed it past Zweber to make it 1-0 Simley.
“That free kick, it’s a matter of practice,” Hernandez Ruiz said. “We’ve been doing this over and over again. The long free kick just to flick on. What can I say? Practice makes perfect.”
The Spartans defended a late onslaught of Raiders offensive pressure resiliently to clinch their trip to state.
“Who could suffer the most and withstand the pain, and we did it,” Albornoz said. “All my love and respect to CDH. They were a hard, hard team to beat. But I think it was our time.”
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