East Hamilton’s soccer stars sparkled Tuesday night to guide the Hurricanes into the Region 3-AAA final.
Jose Orellana and Copper Loftin had two goals apiece in the 4-1 semifinal win at home over Stone Memorial.
Orellana took over out of the gates, putting East Hamilton on the board within minutes of the opening whistle. Taking control of the ball at midfield, he crossed up multiple Stone Memorial defenders before beating the keeper.
“He’s a game changer. That’s what he is, whether he scores or not,” Hurricanes coach Patrick Daverson said. “He’s an extremely talented player and it’s obvious why there are a lot of oohs and aahs when he plays.”
The Panthers evened the score in the 21st minute, as Brandon Tollett volleyed a free kick from Jose Perez off the keeper’s arms and in.
Loftin took care of the rest of the scoring in the first half, controlling a pass from Orellana for a vicious strike outside the box with just under 10 to play. He then slotted in a penalty kick for the last play of the half. The Hurricanes led 3-1 at the break.
“We played a good game,” Daverson said. “I don’t want to say we haven’t put a solid 80 minutes together, but we really hadn’t. As an overall performance, the scoreboard speaks and so do the shots.”
To go along with the goal scoring, East Hamilton held Stone Memorial to one shot in the second half and limited the Crossville team’s possession heavily.
“We made some changes going into the second half,” Daverson said. “Our back line is coming together. We’ve had injuries, and finally these past three games we’ve had the same 11 start, so guys are starting to communicate and play together.”
The Hurricanes fired four more shots on goal but could not find the back of the net. Several sailed high or wide.
Orellana was dominant in the midfield, and after having a few shots denied he drew a penalty, and his goal ended the scoring.
“It was what I wanted. It was scrappy,” said Panthers coach Michael Husbands. “We’ve never been this far, so we’re breaking down walls. Hopefully we show the community and players that it can be done, and it has been done now.”
The Hurricanes will face off Thursday against Cookeville, which downed Cleveland 5-1.
Kyle Swenson scored for Cleveland, but Cookeville had four goals within the first 15 minutes of play.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.