Brock Kappelmann – November 2, 2024 6:06 am
Jay Daubenberger
History continues to be made for Seward County men’s soccer who grabbed their first postseason win in program history on Friday afternoon as the Saints faced the Kansas City Kansas Blue Devils in the first round of the Region VI Tournament where a double overtime contest was seconds away from heading into penalty kicks until a golden goal from Leonardo Leitao led SCCC to a 1-0 win over the Blue Devils.
Seward County and Kansas City Kansas were locked in a battle throughout all 90:00 minutes of regulation with neither side willing to give up a chance to score to the other. Bruno Mestres dominated in front of the goal with a big time catch in the air for a save that held the Blue Devils scoreless and with help from the back line of Gustavo Chavez, Alexander Stevens-Lee, and Francisco Nava Gomez, the Saints were able to keep the score at 0-0. It was rare for Seward County to make an offensive push in the first half but found their stride with Renan Ferreira pushing down field where he found open space and took a chance to score but missed outside of the cross bar to leave the score at 0-0 entering the halftime break.
The back-and-forth contest continued on in the second half with both sides making advancements but neither able to find a way to sneak in a goal as Mestres blocked away any shots that the Blue Devils got off to remain blank at 0-0 after the 60th minute. Nava Gomez tried to create some offense for the Saints with a rocket of a kick that went to high and sailed over the goal but was able to make an impact defensively as he knocked away multiple passes to keep Seward County on the offensive entering the final few minutes of regulation. Neither team however was able to cash in a goal in the final minutes to result in extra time on the clock for overtime with neither team on the board at 0-0.
Overtime quickly turned into double overtime with both time holding each other scoreless through another ten minutes of action and were seconds from heading into penalty kicks to end the game until lightning struck in the form of Leitao. The freshman midfielder sliced his way through the KCK defense in the final minute to make a few key passes that ended up back at his feet before shooting and cashing in on the game winning goal to secure a 1-0 win over the Blue Devils.
The Saints now improve to 8-5-5 overall on the 2024 campaign and begin the postseason with an upset win on the road over Kansas City Kansas. Seward County will be back in action on Wednesday as they await their upcoming matchup for the Semifinals of the Region VI Tournament.
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