Penn boys survive Goshen, rainy elements to advance to IHSAA regional final
GOSHEN — Andre Gomez heard the screaming. As locked in as the Penn midfielder was during Wednesday night's 3A boys soccer regional semifinal at Goshen, it became clear one Goshen fan would get a louder when Gomez had the ball.
The sophomore, made no secret he favored his left foot to dribble and shoot, and one Goshen supporter in the bleachers caught on quickly, constantly letting the No. 17 RedHawks know to defend that direction even more.
They didn't seem to get the message, especially when Gomez sent a curling ball into the top-left corner of the net, to give the 15th-ranked Kingsmen a 5-3 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
"I had to work a little bit of magic," Gomez said. "Get my left foot and not (let it) stop me."
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That goal, Gomez's second of the match, proved to be the game-winner, as Penn advanced to the regional final with a 5-4 win. The Kingsmen will host either Lake Central or Portage Saturday at 4:30 p.m..
"Excitement the entire time," Penn head coach Kyle Zaber said of the match. "Gratitude for a team like Goshen, as well. Those players are always well coached and bring out the best in us and force the best of us and you saw that today."
In the rain and wind, Penn needed every one of its five goals because Goshen's Josh Cruz was a one-man wrecking crew. Cruz scored all four of his team's goals, including the opener less than two minutes in, another to tie the game at 2 with two minutes to go in the first half and two penalty kicks in the second half.
Penn, however, had every answer. Along with Gomez's two goals, Wesley Harper, Nicholas Scheidler and Noe Ferreira found the back of the next for the Kingsmen, who also scored five goals in a win against Goshen in the regular season.
"Our strength in the offensive is playing in the midfield and finding the gaps in the defense," Gomez said. "We have a lot of speed up front and we use it to our advantage against defenders."
That speed had its affect despite the night's elements, which included sideways rain and a slick field. The Kingsmen were constantly in control, passing their way into scoring chances. For a side that hasn't been an offensive powerhouse this season, scoring a Northern Indiana Conference East-West Division-low 46 goals this season, that performance was a big boost.
"You take each team as it comes," Zaber said. "Oftentimes we don't give up four goals, either. The regular season game was 5-3. We knew it was going to be a battle. The guys will take confidence from it and recognize that against any team we can take those chances and maybe their keeper saves, but if they don't we get that rebound shot. You don't get the goal without the shot."
Penn has seen both sides of the offensive spectrum so far during the playoffs, scoring two goals in wins against Chesterton and South Bend Adams and 17 combined in wins against South Bend Riley and Goshen. The key, Zaber said, to prolong its postseason run to find that balance moving forward.
By the time the Stadium emptied out, that chirping fan back in his car, Penn had already wrapped up its celebration. With a chance to clinch their first regional title since 2015 on their home turf, the Kingsmen turned attention to the next game.
"We just got to stay focused," Gomez said. "Put hard work in at practice and prepare for Saturday."
Other local regional semifinal scores
1A No. 1 Westview 1, No. 13 Bethany Christian 0
Teague Misner scored the lone goal for the defending 1A state champions, as the Warriors moved on to Saturday's regional final against Wheeler.
2A NorthWood vs. Mishawaka Marian
Game was postponed to Thursday due to impending weather in Nappanee. NorthWood will now host a regional semi-final doubleheader against Marian in both boys and girls soccer. The boys game begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls at 7:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana high school soccer: Penn boys beat Goshen; set for regional final
