Ridge boys beat Cypress Creek on PKs for 7A-6 title

CELEBRATION – Ridge Community knew the Bolts would face a challenge against Cypress Creek’s defense – so much so that they practiced penalty kicks for two weeks. 

The Bolts made that practice pay off, outshooting the Bears 5-3 in penalty kicks to win the Class 7A, District 6 boys soccer title after a scoreless regulation and overtime. 

Ridge Community (13-0) will play host to Windermere, a 1-0 loser to Clermont East Ridge, on Feb. 17, in a Region 2-7A quarterfinal. Cypress Creek (12-2-2) will travel to East Ridge. 

Midfielder Juan Brito put the Bolts up 1-0 in the shootout by beating the keeper lower left. Ridge Community got a lift when backup goalkeeper Santiago Rivas Rubio sent Cypress Creek’s first attempt high. 

“It made me nervous, because it was the first one,” Brito said. “I had to make sure it was going to go in. We practiced all week for this, so I felt confident.” 

Thiago Costa, Manuel Villegas and Anthony Cruz each made their kicks but were matched by Cypress Creek. 

Junior Leo Vasquez then beat Cypress Creek keeper Christian Torres to clinch the Bolts’ district title. 

It made sense that this district final would be a defensive struggle. Ridge Community is allowing just one goal per game. Cypress Creek, meanwhile, has allowed only five goals all season. The Bears’ defense has had to be good, with an offense averaging only 1.5 goals per game. 

Both teams kept the game knotted thanks to stout midfield play and defenders who closed in to erase any foe who escaped the midfield. 

“Keep calm with the ball,” Ridge Community defender Manuel Villegas said. “I believe in my midfield and my defense. I have confidence in them. The forwards, I’ve been playing with them for years now.” 

The Bears shut out a Ridge offense averaging five goals per game through regulation. 

Bolts coach Micheal Blethen said his team suffered without Mateo Cespedes, who played only 10 minutes after suffering a foot injury in the semifinals. 

“We tried to stage everything to get a couple opportunities,” Blethen said. “We used our height and our strength on the defensive line to keep the balls from going through. We did our best to keep the ball going wide. 

“They’re a fabulous defense. They did an outstanding job keeping our players boxed in. We tried a lot of different things. We tried different formations, we tried different attack patterns. Their two center backs were studs. It came down to who was going to have the perseverance at the end.”