Eagles Will Play Cleveland on Thursday, 4/30/26 with 6 PM Start At Cleveland Middle School
#3 Eagles @ #2 Ocoee-2nd playoff game, 4-28-26
The Eagles traveled to Ray Conn Sports Complex in Cleveland to face off vs. the Ocoee Colts for a 5:30pm kickoff on Tuesday evening. The weather was overcast with a breeze, perfect for the battle that was about to commence! While the Eagles had not beaten the Colts in the regular season, that did not stop them from coming out as gladiators right from the get-go, focusing in during their warm-up and battling it out for the entire 60 minutes of game! They left absolutely no crumbs behind and left no doubt in anyone’s mind what they can accomplish when they come out to grind, work hard, and play for each other!
There were so many moments of absolute joy & pride in all of them!! They played their hearts out in the first half for a 0-0 tie at halftime. Our defensive line of Graham Campbell, Titus LeBlanc, Jose Flores, and goalie, Finn Shaffer, with help from Brayden McCarley & Jacob Brock, was absolute fire in the first half, battling the Colts back again and again, winning ball after ball to drive it back up top or through the middle. The second half saw every single one of the Eagles come out with fire in their bellies and a desire for the “W”! The midfielders, rotating between Caleb Williams, Aiden Leonard, Tripp Soyster, Sawyer Prudhomme, Ben Saado, and Dominic Sanchez completely dominated in bodying up for the ball and winning each possession with pressure and control and grit! Our offensive line, with rotations of Manny Juarez, Gavin McCosh, Abriel Sanchez, Gustavo Lopez, Iker Lopez, and Stephen Shaver relentlessly kept the pressure up on the defense and goalie, with drive after drive after drive to goal, slotting through balls and cross balls in again and again!
During the final 10 minutes of the game, Titus LeBlanc managed to pop a ball up into the middle, where Dom Sanchez collected it off his chest, let it bounce to the ground, and then slammed it up high and over the goalie’s head around the 30 yard mark! Eagles up 1-0 and the bench and our fans went crazy!! 5 minutes later, a ball fed up to the 30 yard mark again by Aiden Leonard, had just enough spice on it for Sawyer Prudhomme to run in on it and launch it, once again, up and over the goalie’s head! Eagles now up 2-0 and our fans and bench cannot be contained with their excitement now!! The Eagles continued to dominate until the very last second, securing a win of 2-0 and punching their ticket to the District Championship game!!
Coach Audrey and Coach Allison had this to say following the game, “We gave the boys a pre-game speech about becoming gladiators on the field, only fighting for each other, and focusing only on what mattered, which was our team of boys that we loved. We challenged them to dominate and be absolute warriors to every single ball, every single body, every single throw-in/punt/kick, anything out on the field, that was their domain. And the boys came out with heart & grit & determination and delivered with every single fiber of their souls! They wanted the game, and they proved that tonight! We are beyond proud of them and are looking to carry this mindset and momentum into the championship game as well!”
Cleveland beat Athens 4-0 the same night, so the District Championship game will be held on Thursday, April 30th, at Cleveland Middle School at 6pm. Winner of that game advances on to regionals next week. Come out and support the Eagles as they push to bring home, not only the hardware of District Champs, but for the first time in history, advance to the regional playoffs & hopefully, state, as well. Let’s bring a crowd of Eagles to be loud and proud as they face off versus the Raiders!!