Two Minutes That Led to Victory for Panthers

Brianne Rodriguez Lopez & Alexander Sletten

Brianne Rodriguez, J1 Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 27th turned out to be a very successful night for Paint Branch’s Junior Varsity Boys  Soccer team as they recorded their very first victory of the season in a 2-1 triumph over Springbrook.

Ready as ever, the Panthers took the field prepared to compete against their rival, who was looking for their third win of the year.

In the first half, Paint Branch came to the field  strong, and Udayveer Makkar scored the very first goal of the game within the very first minutes. This gave Panthers the lead, but left Springbrook plenty of time to come back strong. While the action was exciting on the field, the Springbrook coach seemed to be unsure about some aspects of the game. He stood towards the side of the field yelling constantly, despite the fact that Springbrook seemed to be playing at a steady pace.

Tensions were high as time was coming to an end at the half with a score of 1-0, Panthers.

Sweat ran down  every player’s face and neither team was planning to leave the night losing. With ten minutes left in the half, Elgar Iglecias, Springbrook’s midfielder, got a hold of the ball. Moving fluidly, Iglecias ran toward the Panther goal. As soon as the ball was at a good position near the net, Igecias looked up to see his options and blasted the ball into the net. A huge buzzer followed, and Iglecias had claimed Springbrook’s first goal of the night.

The first half of a hard-fought game ended in a tie, 1-1.

“It was a tough game,” stated  Iglecias Jr.

While Springbrook finished with a strong comeback during the first half, that didn’t seem to be the case when it came to the end of second half. The field looked like  faked camera footage submitted in replacement of a robbery. Nothing exciting, nothing eventful throughout the most of second half, Everything seemed slower. The game showed signs that the halftime score would be 1-1. That was until Eugene Lee from Paint Branch decided that this was his night to  experience a remarkable event that will stand out as one of the best of the whole season. With only two minutes on the clock, Lee captures the ball, smoothly runs near the net, and scores into the net.    Every single person in the crowd and on the field was in suspense. They all saw the ball curving into the goal. The ball made the net dance in victory as it touched the back of the net. Lee explained that the goal was very unexpected, but when he saw the opportunity, he stepped up his game. He decided to go with his gut and attempt a shot that seemed astounding if made.
Lee finished off saying, “We had to fight till the end and stick until the end of the game.”

Unfortunately, Lee’s moment of celebration was tempered by news that an injury he suffered in the first half  – a hit to the eye – will force him to miss  the rest of the season.This was Lee’s very first goal of the season and, shockingly, will be his last. But it was a goal to remember.

The final score was a Panther victory of 2-1. The last minute goal by Eugene Lee gave the Paint Branch Panthers their first win of the season.

In representation of Springbrook, Igecias’ final comment towards the game was, “We fought hard, but unfortunately we lost, but we gotta keep up.”