The three whistles sounded Thursday night through the raw, 40-degree air and Citrus High soccer player Josh Marsden looked down at the wet grass as he took three steps toward the team bench.
The talented senior didn’t get any closer. The entire Citrus squad, half of whom sprinted all the way across the field, mobbed Marsden after his two goal, two assist performance powered underdog Citrus past Land O’Lakes 4-3 in a Class 3A regional quarterfinal.
It was a statement win not just for the Hurricanes but for all of Citrus County.
“For years Citrus High School and Citrus County, at this sport, we’ve always been looked down at,” said Hurricanes head coach Steve Ekeli, whose coached soccer for 24 years, six at Citrus High School. “Tonight was an opportunity for us to show everybody in the state of Florida that we just beat a tremendous program. We left no doubt that we belong here.”
It also showcased how special Marsden is.
“He amazes me,” said Ekeli. “I haven’t seen a performance like that in 10, 12 years. That may be the best (individual) performance that we (at Citrus) have had.”
How the Hurricanes won Thursday night would have turned even the most uninterested spectator into a soccer fan. Three different lead changes and three goals in the last 10:20 of the game kept the excitement at an optimum level.
“The range of emotions (was incredible),” said Ekeli. ”All the credit to the boys and their willingness never to quit.”
Citrus jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 25 minutes of play. Matt Rinaldi took a Marsden cross from the left side to beat Gator goalkeeper Kiran Sandiford nine minutes into the match.
That got Land O’Lakes attention. The Gators pressured Citrus consistently getting seven shots off after Citrus’ first goal. Sophomore Glen Johnson posed the biggest threat. Johnson’s header a minute after the Citrus goal sailed just over the crossbar. Moments later Alex Hediger hit the post and then Citrus defender Ryan Dolan blocked a Land O’Lakes shot attempt with goalkeeper Dakota Grudas out of position.
The Hurricanes survived the multiple threats and actually went up 2-0 when Austin Wilcoxon took a beautifully placed ball from Marsden, beat Sandiford to it and snuck a shot just inside the right post.
But three and half minutes later Johnson got free and beat Grudas to get Land O’Lakes on the board. Citrus led 2-1 at the half.
Land O’Lakes scored the next two goals, the second by Johnson coming with 10:20 left in the game to break a 2-2 tie. The Hurricanes, who went almost 50 minutes between goals, tied it up 3-3 with 6:30 remaining on Marsden’s first goal. He was assisted by Mauro Mondragon.
“When we put that third (goal) in the net, I knew in my heart that if we got the ball on Josh’s foot, it was over,” said Ekeli.
Just a minute and half later, Wilcoxon got the ball on Marsden’s foot and like Ekeli predicted it was over.
“It is important to be at the top of your game at the right time of the season,” Marsden said.
Ekeli and the Citrus coaching staff weren’t the only ones that realized how much Thursday night’s win over Land O’Lakes means.
“We weren’t favored to win,” said Wilcoxon. “Yeah, we were the (district champion) but tonight we got some respect from those schools in Pasco and Hernando county. Beating these guys, we got some respect and that is what we wanted.”