COMMERCE CITY – First they wore them out.
Then, they finished them off.
And now the Space Coast United U19 boys are just two wins away from accomplishing something they’ve literally been working towards for a year.
Trailing California’s Cesar Chavez Futbol Academy 1-0 at the half, SCU got a game-tying goal from Jadyn Senger and the game-winner from Mikkel Jensen with time running down in regulation to score a 2-1 victory in the final game of pool play at the U.S. Soccer Club National Cup.
The victory puts Space Coast United into the semifinals for the second straight year. SCU scheduled to face Oklahoma’s West Side Alliance SC Sunday morning at 10:30 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Anyone who has been following Space Coast United knows it was leading 2-1 in last year’s national semifinals when a controversial call – a foul called on SCU’s goalkeeper, who collided with an opponent while making a save – resulted in a penalty kick that tied the game. SCU would end up losing in overtime and vowed to come back to Colorado and make amends.
Now, Space Coast United has that chance.
It wasn’t easy, of course, but that just makes it sweeter.
This one was absolutely a team effort. It was also an example of heart, determination and fitness. Lots and lots of fitness.
“It means, everything,” Viera High grad Matthew Da Silva said. “Last year, hearts were broken. We want this so bad. That’s why at practice we always run 120’s every single time.
“We were just pushing ourselves to the limit and making sure when we came back here, we were coming back to win.”
The Cesar Chavez team came into Saturday’s matchup having scored nine goals in its previous two games and looking like a formidable opponent in a matchup where the winner was guaranteed a spot in the semifinals and the loser would have to hope the tiebreakers went their way.
And when Cesar Chavez scored an early goal, it looked like Space Coast United might be in trouble because the California team appeared to be packing the box defensively to take away any scoring opportunities. SCU did create a few chances, but couldn’t convert and went to the half trailing 1-0.
“I wasn’t really stressed after they scored the first goal, because I thought throughout the whole game, we were the better team,” Jensen said. “At halftime, everyone was scared, and I just said we’ve just got to calm down. We’ve been playing well. We just need to put the ball in the back of the net.
“And then, their team tired out and we got the last two goals.”
As much as the players may not have enjoyed it, all the extra work they put in before coming to Colorado has really paid off. That was evident in the last 20 minutes of the game, where Cesar Chavez players were leaning over and clearly exhausted, while Space Coast United just kept coming.
“We ran at the end of every practice,” SCU coach Taylor Pitts said about his team’s preparation. “The boys wanted to die. It’s warm here, but it’s not warm like at home because of the humidity.
“The second half of the game, we just took over. They weren’t fit. They were cramping and dropping off. Our kids just kept going and going. I’ve got 18 kids who can play, and we used all 18 of them today.
“Luke (Collins) usually gets a lot of minutes. He played 10 in the second half and sold out. He did what he had to do. Jake Medina put his body on the line all day long and Luke went in and finished the game. Goody (Matthew Gooden) played a ton of minutes today. Dane (Boss) played a ton of minutes. Jake Wells, the first half, not the best we’ve seen him play. The second half, he just kept going.
“Mikkel was getting frustrated and we just kept telling him, ‘Mikkel, keep running. You’re going to get rewarded.’ He kept running, and it happened.”
Yes, it did.
The game-tying goal came from Senger, whose long-distance shot beat the keeper to the near post. Senger has now scored three goals in three tournament games.
Then, it was Jensen, who scored with less than four minutes left in regulation on an assist from Wells.
“I was actually a little bit tired,” Jensen said. “The ball came over, Jake was running down the line. I was thinking, ‘Should I go? Or not? I’m a little bit tired.’
“Jake likes to shoot a lot because he’s a good player. I (went) in case the goalkeeper bobbled it out, but (Jake) ended up cutting it back and I just finished it.”
Jensen’s goal set off a big celebration for SCU, which could now clearly see it’s path to the semifinals with the score 2-1.
“All I could do is just run and hug him,” Da Silva said. “It was a beautiful goal. Jake had the assist and he just slots it into the post.
“I can’t even describe how it feels. It was just amazing.”
The Cesar Chavez was trailing now, but to its credit, the players still had some fight in them. They created one more quality scoring chance in extra time that required a big-time save by SCU goalkeeper Lucas Evans.
Jensen, Da Silva and Pitts all praised Evans for coming up with a big save to preserve the win.
“None of us saw it coming,” Da Silva said. “He (Evans) just came out (and made a) perfect save to really save us from a tie right there.
“I mean, it was just excellent goalkeeping. I don’t expect anything less from him. He’s that kind of guy. He’ll make that kind of save.”
That’s the kind of effort it took to get the win on Saturday, and that’s what it will take to get this thing across the finish line.
As Pitts told the players after the game, their moment isn’t going to happen every game. They’re moment is going to happen when it matters most for the team.
And there were plenty of those moments on Saturday. Like Skyler Serpa-Tapia, who didn’t have his best first half, but finished the game with some of his best play of the season.
“I can’t say enough about some of these kids.” Pitts said. “Carlos (Nieves) put in a class effort today. He went 90 minutes, the whole game, holding us together. Jake Medina. Lucas (Evans) had a huge save there in extra time.
“.. Yeah, we single out a couple of kids, but really, it’s all 18 of them. I put the goalkeeper (Eddie Steinwand) to play striker for 10 minutes today. He wore them down, did what he was supposed to do … chase, chase, chase and won some tackles.”
Other players with big contributions on Saturday included Owen Kaufman; Caleb Adams; Wade Bishop; Samuel Cottrell; Aiden Holtcamp; Rod Rincones and Sean Rogers.
“Every single person did their job,” Da Silva said. “That was what made us able to win.”
Now that they have their second shot at winning the National Cup, expect an even bigger effort from Space Coast United players come Sunday.
“I think there’s just more hunger after this game to get to the finals and win,” Jensen said.