OAKWOOD, Ga. — Edgar Vazquez carried Johnon's season with his strong right leg when the team needed him most.
The senior converted two free kicks, the second one late in the game, to give the Knights the lead and ultimately lead to a 3-2 victory over Whitewater in the Class 4A quarterfinal round Tuesday at The Dungeon. This resulted in a point difference.
“It's just Edgar being Edgar,” Johnson's coach, Frank Zamora, said. “Whenever I get a kick 30 yards out, I tell him to go get one. He scored two points, both of which were huge for us.”
But Vazquez explained he couldn't have done it without help, as Daniel Trujillo provided two perfect screens in front of Wildcats keeper Bayne Thompson.
“The first one I was trying to hit the back post, but I missed it and Trujillo went between my legs and it worked,” Vazquez said. “He did the same thing the second time. It was intentional.”
After both teams battled for field position for the first 32 minutes, Vasquez's go-ahead goal late in the first half gave the Knights a 1-0 lead. The second goal was a 2-1 lead at halftime, but they led 3-2 with 10 minutes and 45 seconds left in the game.
The 2024 Knights have proven to be a late-game team, scoring five goals after halftime in their last two playoff games.
“The players didn't get off to a good start. We talked about it at halftime and talked about adjustments and the energy we needed,” Zamora said. “When you're behind with 40 minutes left in the quarterfinals, it's all or nothing, so you attack especially in the second half. They made it happen.”
Johnson created three solid chances early in the second half, but Junior Castillo's goal off center from Trujillo in the 49th minute tied the game. The Knights (17-1-1) continued to put pressure on Thompson, who had to make five diving saves over the next 10 minutes to keep the score tied.
The Wildcats nearly regained the lead in the 62nd minute when Johnson keeper Benji Villatoro had to make a diving save of his own on Ryan Daniel's 30-yard free kick. The teams exchanged two more scoring chances, with Vázquez scoring the winning goal eight minutes later.
The Wildcats pushed forward in the final 10 minutes, with two headers from crosses going over the goal. Johnson took control of the ball with 30 seconds left and ran out the remaining time to advance to his sixth straight semifinal.
The Knights will turn their attention to the winner of LaGrange vs. Northwest Whitfield in Friday's Final Four.
“It's a tradition here to go deep into the tournament and play in the big games, and I'm excited to be playing a Final Four game in The Dungeon in front of our fans,” Zamora said.
For the first 33 minutes, Johnson and Whitewater's defense dictated the action and limited chances. Each team had just two solid chances in his first 30 minutes, but it looked as if they were destined to win with the first goal.
The Knights then broke through the Wildcats' defense first with Vasquez's first free kick goal.
But the Wildcats Class 4A's No. 1 offense responded in a big way. After going on attack, Whitewater took advantage of two free kicks of its own to score a header from Cole Valentine, and 47 seconds later Eli Bannister flicked the ball that bounced off another free kick to Villatoro. He took a 2-1 lead with 2 minutes and 58 seconds left. In half.
This was the first time the Knights fell behind in the 2024 playoffs.
Johnson had seven shots on target in the first half alone. Whitewater had nine shots in the first 40 minutes.
Note: Johnson continued some big winning streaks with the win. The Knights won 14 straight games in 2024, won 13 straight in the playoffs, and won 17 straight in the postseason at home. … It's his second consecutive season in the Elite Eight that eliminated Whitewater from the playoffs. He defeated the Wildcats 7-1 in the 2023 quarterfinals. …He has allowed more than two goals just once, in the Knights' 5-4 win over Gainesville. He has given up one run or less in 14 games and has seven shutouts. … Whitewater had the top offense in Class 4A, scoring 92 goals. …But the Wildcats are currently only 1-3-1 when allowing two or more goals. They had a perfect 13-0 record when giving up one goal or less.
