LaBellman, Saks goals helps Winter Park topple West Orange
WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA – Christian LaBellman and Colt Saks scored two goals within 1:10 of each other Wednesday to give the Winter Park Wildcats a 4-2 victory over West Orange in a Class 7A, Region 1 boys soccer quarterfinal.
Sixth-seeded Winter Park (14-1-2) will play host to seventh-seeded Lake Mary (17-3-1) on Saturday in a region semifinal. The Rams beat Bartram Trail, 5-1, in another region quarterfinal. The Wildcats did not play Lake Mary this season, but the Rams own a 6-3 playoff record against Winter Park.
“They’re very strong,” Winter Park coach Tom Traxler said. “That’s a good team. We have to get our homework done, train and be prepared.”
West Orange fell to 14-2-1 despite six saves from Sebastian Scott and Gabriel Skurski’s two goals.
LaBellman headed in a Zach Blacher free kick from near the left corner past the West Orange keeper with 7:16 left in the second half to break a 2-2 tie.
“I saw an opportunity,” LaBellman said. “I hit them with a quick jab to the left, saw that he was lost, went through the middle and the ball came straight to my head, and I put it in the back o the net.”
Christian LaBellman scored the go-ahead goal late in the second half and Winter Park had another score in its 4-2 win over West Orange, Wednesday, in a Class 7A, Region 1 soccer quarterfinal.
Photo by Lynn Ramsey
Saks then took a through ball from David Peris-Alba and beat the keeper from about 15 yards with 6:06 left to make it 4-2 Wildcats.
Saks said he never felt such elation as he felt after LaBellman’s goal.
“I saw the space between their center backs, and I got a good ball,” Saks said. “It worked out.”
Cameron Angeles gave the Wildcats a chance to grab the victory by making six saves and intercepting several other crossing passes. Traxler lauded Angeles’ aggressiveness in defending the line, but also lauded seniors Cole Colado and Matx Butkus on defense.
Angeles said film study helped Winter Park set its defense. However, he said it was “super nerve-wracking. You just gotta do the job.”
West Orange tested Angeles early and often. The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 5th minute when Gabriel Skurski put back a rebound just to the right of the Winter Park keeper from about 6 yards out.
“I thought in the beginning, we looked good marking people in the midfield and moving the ball in the midfield,” West Orange coach Scott Fisher said. “We kind of lost that in the first 10 or 15 minutes. We kind of never got it back.
“Our marking in the midfield was never good after the beginning, and that’s what gave them the goals at the end. Everyone looks at the defense and what happened to the defense, but all that starts at the line before. If we’d done a little better job marking some people in the midfield, the result would have been different.”
The Wildcats tied 1-1 it when forward Mattheus Silva centered to Ahmad Abu Alheija, who beat the West Orange keeper from 15 yards on a shot that bounced off the right post, off the keeper and into the goal.
Stefan Panic hit a lightning strike just before the half, burying a 19-yard free kick into the right side of the goal with 1:28 left in the half to put the Wildcats up 2-1.
Skurski tied it 2-2 10 minutes into the second half with a penalty kick goal just inside the left post.
Winter Park’s midfield grabbed momentum just after halftime, then regained control after Skurski’s tying goal.
“We wanted to watch their goalkeeper, especially in transitions,” Traxler said. “He would get the ball in his hands and throw really quick. We also had to pay attention to their right side, our left side. We had to be a little stronger. We put a couple players up a bit tighter in certain areas.”
Several times, Winter Park midfielders stole passes, prevented West Orange clearing attempts and sparked counterattacks.
One of those counterattacks set up the free kick and the go-ahead goal.
“James (Lewless), Zach, Sebastian (Ramirez), no matter who we put in there, they understood their movements,” Traxler said. “They understood where to pick up and cover, when to slide out. Their determination was fantastic.”
