Facing an Arts & Sciences team that had beaten them during the regular season, the Hixson Wildcats entered the final half of Tuesday evening's Region 3-A/AA soccer semifinal believing that intensity could be the key for unlocking unbeatable confidence.
The Wildcats fought off the pressure of season-ending elimination and kept the Patriots on their heels with relentless offensive rushes and precision passing that produced three goals in the final 20 minutes and a 4-1 victory.
Hixson (17-3) will square off Thursday against Boyd-Buchanan, which beat Howard 4-0.
"Opening up in the second half, I thought we were going to end up going to penalty kicks, because it was such a tight game," Wildcats sophomore midfielder Spencer Groves said of the match that was scoreless in the first half. "But we picked up the intensity. Then, all of a sudden, we just started dominating the game. We started out-passing them, out-defended them and started scoring goals."
The Wildcats began coming at the Patriots (10-9) with waves of rushes in the CSAS defensive third. Two minutes into the second half, Wildcats junior midfielder Cameron Rigler pounced on a weak clearing attempt to score the game's first goal.
Seven minutes later, Dalton Milsaps converted a loose ball outside the Hixson penalty box to tie it at 1.
But the pressure of an even contest and the prospect of overtime served to inspire the Wildcats to raise their intensity level as Groves and his teammates took over. A knifing pass by Groves allowed Vacente Guerrero to give Hixson the lead with a goal from point-blank range.
Groves' second sharp pass in as many runs led to a CSAS foul in the box and a penalty kick. Groves nailed the PK in what proved be the dagger of the match with 16 minutes left.
Rather than stay back in a defensive posture to close it out, the Wildcats kept pressing and Juan Nunez converted a strong toe pass from Cergio Maldonado in the final two minutes.
"The main thing I saw tonight was our confidence rising in my teammates," said Rigler, one of the captains of the team. "Everyone was gaining confidence throughout the game. Once you get that going, you can dominate a team. Our passes got better and we started scoring goals."
"The biggest difference today was that we didn't pressure them last time," said Hixson coach Jeff Dean, contrasting Tuesday's win with a 3-1 regular-season loss to the Patriots. "In the last game, they jumped up on us with that first goal and we started playing back.
"Getting that first goal tonight really helped us," he added. "This game could have gone either way. CSAS is a great team and this is a huge win for us. We will enjoy this win tonight and then we have to get ready for Thursday."
The Wildcats took advantage of some injuries in the Patriots defense and shifting of players to outshoot CSAS by a three-to-one ratio.
"You have to give Hixson the credit. I think that they played with more intensity and we were a little thin today," said Patriot coach David Poss. "We were playing a little injured and had some people in some different spots.
"They played the game plan they were going to play, and unfortunately we didn't get in sync enough," he added. "I'm proud of these guys. I'm proud of them every day. They stepped up so often this year. I'd love to have another chance, but we'll have to wait until next year."
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com.