GEORGETOWN — Marcus Manu took a few bouncy steps toward the corner flag, then leapt into the air and twisted at the same time. He landed facing the opposite direction, his arms and fingers fully extended to the sides of his body.
This was Manu's effort to recreate the celebration made famous by Cristiano Ronaldo, a world-class soccer player who spent his career scoring goals in important knockout matches. Emulation couldn't be more appropriate at the moment.
“I'm just celebrating the GOAT,” Manu said. “That was the first thing that came to mind. I kind of saved it. I've done it before in club soccer, but this is the first time I've done it in an important match.”
For much of Thursday's state semifinal, Midlothian soaked up pressure and remained disciplined defensively as Goose Creek Memorial held the ball for long periods of time and displayed immense technical ability.
Then a moment of inspiration came from Nizer, who appeared to be trapped on the end line. Niser created enough space to turn and sink the cross over the head of the Goose Creek goalie into the back post, where Manu sprinted as instructed by assistant coach Jessica Perez-Woodrum. , said Manu.
As a man who honored the celebration for many years at Real Madrid, Manu made no mistake with his finish.
“[Goose Creek] I knew we had a good team,” Nizer said. “They were shifting the ball. We just had to stay calm, stay calm, read the game, and when the second half came around we were ready.”
Midlothian (24-2-3) won a battle of contrasting styles to reach its first-ever state championship game. Thursday night against Goose Creek (21-4-2) at Georgetown's Birkelbach Field, a genius hit by Nizer and a late goal by Aiden Hildreth gave the Panthers a 3-3 lead after just under five minutes. -0 victory was decided.
They will play Wakeland in the Class 5A state final Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
“Normally we don't have fans like this,” Nizer said of Midlothian's itinerant support. “It was my first time going to state and everyone showed up. It was amazing.”
Midlothian held off multiple chances from Goose Creek in the first half. Carlos González took a clean touch in the sixth minute, turned and hit the post with a shot. Goose Creek's two headers in the first half went just over the crossbar late in the second half.
In the 15th minute, Juan Martinez fired a shot right in front of the goal from outside the box, and Midlothian goalkeeper Kyle Allen scrambled to push the ball wide. Allen avoided another Goose Creek chance with less than 10 minutes left in the first half.
Early in the second half, Nizer's magic in the last five minutes separated the scores. First, he supported Manu. Five minutes later, he took a strike of his own from about 25 yards to the goal. The shot that seemed to catch Gonzalez off guard flew through the air as a line drive, and with perfect timing sank into the back of the goal.
“I got the ball around the 25th minute, looked up and saw the goal, and it got really big, so I thought, 'Why not?'” Nizer said.
Hildreth added another great finish in the final two minutes.
Goose Creek senior defender Ramon Diaz nearly tied it before Nizer's goal. He broke through the edge of the net with a defender on his hip and slid the ball past Allen, but also past the post. Moments later, Allen collected an out-of-the-foot shot from Isaac Paramo.
Allen stopped five shots and converted Goose Creek's five corner kicks to keep the clean sheet, giving Midlothian its second clean sheet of the postseason.
“[Allen] We did everything today,” Nizer said. “It saved us a lot. When we needed him, he was there for us. Big as always. It's every game for him.”
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