Region Boys Soccer roundup: Booker T. Washington pulls off stunner against Arnold, Gulf Breeze eliminated

Here's a roundup of regional boys soccer matches involving Pensacola-area teams from Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.

Region 1-5A Final

No. 4 Booker T. Washington 3, No. 1 Arnold 2

Not many people gave the Booker T. Washington boys soccer team a chance during its Region 1-6A semifinal against perennial-favorite Arnold.

And in some ways, that was understandable.

The Marlins, a state-finalist last year, were undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the country according to MaxPreps. Additionally, they beat the Wildcats 3-1 in the District 1-5A semifinals on Jan. 30.

But that's why they play the game, because on any given night, anyone can be beat.

Booker T. Washington rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to defeat Arnold 3-2 on Saturday night from the Panama City Beach Sports Complex. After one of their biggest victories in program history, the Wildcats punched their ticket to the Region 1-5A Final.

"I really am speechless," Booker T. Washington head coach Felipe Lawall said. "I have no words to describe what my players did (Saturday night), it was unreal."

Ending their season with a 18-1-2 record, the Marlins were the No. 1 seed in the region while the Booker T. (10-6-3) is the No. 4 seed.

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After the visitors put in two goals to level the match, three Wildcats connected for the go-ahead goal with 40 second left.

Junior striker Kyle Hunnicutt delivered an aerial pass from the midfield to Evan McManus. The sophomore forward quickly turned and send a through ball to sophomore defender Noah Toben, who sprinted on a 40-yard dash down the right sideline. After the pass just got past an Arnold defender, Toben just beat the goalkeeper to the ball and put in the game-winner.

"I have no idea where he got the energy from," Lawall said of Toben's effort. "All of the sudden, he was one-on-one against the keeper and he just tapped it in."

Lawall credits halftime adjustments and his players' unmatched intensity for the comeback.

Playing on a wider pitch than normal, the Wildcats fell in an 0-2 hole after starting the night under a 4-3-3 formation. They switched to a 3-5-2 look, which resulted in as many as seven players on the Marlins side of the field to press. The offense soon followed.

McManus headed in the night's first goal off a free kick from senior forward Jackson Callaway just outside of the 18-yard box. Roughly five minutes later, the visitors earned a penalty kick and the equalizer. Hunnicutt beat the goalkeeper with a shot to the top-left shelf for his team-leading 16th goal this season.

Booker T.'s win wasn't strictly because the team found its attack. Playing against the wind in the second half, the Wildcats struggled in moments to clear the ball and had long stretches of defending in their box. Still, they kept Arnold off the board in the second half.

"My boys played so hard defensively," Lawall said. "They were so composed, making smart decisions and they just did everything close to perfection.

"We kept playing and kept playing until we got the goal at the end."

Booker T. Washington can revel in its accomplished only briefly. The team has just a couple days to prepare before playing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at No. 2 Fort Walton Beach. The Vikings advanced with a 4-0 shutout of No. 3 Choctaw.

The two regional finalists did not play one another during the 2022-23 campaign, but they do have plenty of history. They split a pair of regular-season meetings last season before Fort Walton Beach defeated the Wildcats 2-1 during the district tournament.

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This season, the Vikings are 10-4-3, with a 5-2-1 mark at home.

"The first thing I told the boys after we got in the huddle after the game was 'I know you guys are extremely happy and this feeling is amazing, but we haven't won anything,'" Lawall said. "That was just one game and one hurdle that we had to go through to reach our main goal, which is to reach states this year. I told the boys to celebrate the day and enjoy the moment, but as soon as we wake up Sunday, we have to start thinking about Fort Walton, which is not going to be an easy game."

Region 1-6A semifinal

No. 2 Gainesville 1, No. 3 Gulf Breeze 0

The Dolphins' spectacular season came to a close on Saturday night following a shutout road defeat to the Hurricanes, who scored the match's lone goal in the first half.

Stats were unavailable.

Seeing its 10-match winning streak snapped, Gulf Breeze ends the season at 19-3-1.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Region Boys Soccer: Booker T. Washington rallies to shock No. 1 Arnold