Pinecrest Academy’s boys stormed into the GISA state semifinals Saturday afternoon, courtesy of a 6-0 quarterfinal win against visitor Young Americans Christian School.

J.P. Holdsworth opened the scoring early and Ricardo Garcia-Rulfo, Kevin Metz and Labib Marmarchi also found the net to produce an overwhelming 4-0 halftime lead.

David Reichardt and Ernesto Ochoa struck in the second half to secure a repeat of last year’s semifinal against The Brookwood School.

And, despite the overwhelming margin of victory, Pinecrest coach Chris King is hoping for a more ruthless approach in the semifinal.

“I think we were too lackadaisical at times, but I’m happy with the result,” he said. “The guys did what they needed to do to take care of business … but I think we have a tendency to relax a little bit if it looks like we are going to control the game.”

The Paladins were rarely troubled by the visitors, who trailed after just three minutes, when Holdsworth converted Metz’s cross with a goal-line tap-in.

Eagles goalkeeper Cody Phillips then produced two saves to deny Garcia-Rulfo and Nico Sanchez before being injured on the play leading to Pinecrest’s next goal.

Phillips raced off his line attempting to prevent Garcia-Rulfo a shot inside the penalty area, but collided with the player, whose neatly placed effort nestled into the bottom corner of the net.  

The goalkeeper returned after brief treatment but couldn’t stop a two-goal burst in the 27th minute. Marmarchi had the first, tucking away Reichardt’s corner from close-range, before Metz caught the visitors’ defense off guard to score from the ensuing kickoff.

And the Paladins resumed their pace in the second half, as Reichardt turned inside a defender before punching a low shot beyond Phillips for a 5-0 lead in the 42nd minute.

With little resistance from their opponents and in constant possession, the Paladins soon found the net again. Ochoa was the scorer, driving home a high shot.  

A low-key 20 minutes followed before officials called a halt to play in the 70th minute due to lightning. However, with the Eagles’ coach reluctant to forego the remaining 10 minutes, a two-hour wait ensued before officials decided to end it.

The long wait at least gave King an opportunity to focus his players’ attention to Wednesday’s upcoming clash.

“We played them last year. They were organized and athletic, and it looks like they’ve found consistency,” he said.
“It’s the state semifinals; all four teams are going to be tough. Our goal is to win state this year.”