After 75 minutes of a scoreless deadlock, Bishop England’s Henry Loor scored twice in the waning minutes Saturday to end May River’s season in the Class 3A Lower State semifinals.
Neither team generated many offensive chances for most of the evening, but the Bishops began putting pressure on May River goalkeeper Tony Rodriguez late in the match.
Bishop England’s James Cox nearly scored twice, cracking one shot off the crossbar and forcing Rodriguez to punch another over the bar.
The match seemed destined for extra time before Loor had a breakaway opportunity and made a nifty move past Rodriguez and finished to break the scoreless tie. Just three minutes later, Loor finished a cross from Cox to seal the win.
“I wish we could’ve pulled it off, but I’m very proud of my guys,” Sharks coach Misael Garzon said. “We played one of the best teams in the state toe-to-toe for 75 minutes. It was a great season.”
The Sharks finished their second season with a 20-4 record and a region title, while the Bishops will host Bluffton in the Lower State final Tuesday, though they will be without Cox, who was given a second yellow card in the final minutes, resulting in a red card and a one-game suspension.