February 13, 2014
MELBOURNE — The goal was to score often and fast, just like Sunlake did all season. But soon after the opening whistle in the Class 3A state semifinal with Merritt Island on Thursday afternoon, coach Sam Koleduk realized that would be easier said than done.
The Seahawks came in averaging more than five goals per contest and boasting the state’s leading scorer. Sophomore Remi Pimm’s 64 goals were five shy of the state record set by future Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski in 1997.
But all of that wasn’t enough for Sunlake to earn its first state championship berth. Merritt Island shut down Pimm and played lockdown defense to beat the Seahawks 1-0.
Merritt Island (21-1-0) is on the opposite side of the state from Sunlake’s stomping grounds. But the Mustangs knew exactly who Pimm was and the threat he posed to their state title dreams.
“We knew that everything went through Remi. He scored all the goals, so we shut him down,” Merritt Island coach Scooty Carey said. “That was our goal, to not allow Remi to get the ball, and if he did, not allow him to turn; to limit his chances at goal. And we did.”
Merritt Island took control in the first half, stopping the Seahawks (29-2-1) in their tracks just about every time they got the ball. It scored in the 12th minute when Parker Duncan sent a cross to Scott Behrhorst, who slipped it past goalkeeper Daniel Hrenko.
After an early Sunlake corner kick, the second half was much of the same. Pimm averaged two goals per game, but the Mustangs didn’t let him get anywhere close to the box.
In the 67th minute, freshman midfielder Sebastian Restrepo escaped a tangle in the box with the ball at his feet and took a hard strike at close range for Sunlake’s first shot of the half.
“Just in the moment of the game, you don’t really think. You just shoot it,” he said. “Hopefully, it goes in.”
It didn’t. Defender Tyler Rye was in the right place at the right time, blocking and clearing the ball before the goalkeeper could even get a hand on it.
Sunlake had three more quick shots, including another from Restrepo, in the final minutes. As the final seconds ticked off, Merritt Island’s fans at Eastern Florida State College counted them down. And Sunlake’s final desperation shot landed softly in the goalkeeper’s hands as the buzzer sounded.
