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Menendez and Nease players watch the ball soar during the first half of their match Friday night, January 13, 2006 at Nease High School. Pictured from left, Menendez blue and Nease white: Houston Turner, Kyle Ringeisen, Tim Kirchoff, Jay A. Nelson and Jeremy Schraufnagl. Photo by MADELYN TROYANEK, firstname.lastname@example.org
Filip Ivanov has not had time to have much of a career for the Nease boys soccer team, but Friday he had a career night.
The freshman forward catapulted the Panthers past visiting Menendez, scoring two goals in the final minute as Nease stunned its district rival 3-1.
Ivanov's clutch plays snapped a 1-1 tie and nearly 68 minutes of scoreless soccer.
After beating the Menendez defense for the game-winner, the youngster added some insurance with another goal just seconds later, sending the Nease bench into euphoria and handing the Falcons their first district loss of the season.
"It felt like a dream out there," Ivanov said. "I was confident I could make my presence felt and make a difference. As a freshman, I get minimal chances to show what I can do so this is big for me."
It's also big for Nease (12-5-5, 5-2), which seemed to be outmatched by Menendez (12-2-1, 7-1) heading into the match. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 3-1 in their first meeting this season.
"This was a good match for us against a very talented team," Nease coach Gary McKinley said. "Filip is a very creative player with a very bright future. He really stepped up to the plate tonight for us.
"The last three of four matches our defense has really started to come together."
Menendez's Mack Hough got the Falcons an early lead, scoring on a putback with 31:53 to play in the first half.
The goal was Hough's 30th of the season but would be all the scoring Menendez would muster against a stout Nease defense.
"Disappointed would be the word to describe this," Menendez coach Rupert Lassetter said. "It was a fairly even game. The soccer gods can be kind of cruel at times."
Nease answered Hough's score just two minutes later on a Joe McKinley goal.
From that point, the scoreboard froze until Ivanov's late eruption.
The two teams could lock up again in the District 5-4A championship game at Menendez on Jan. 27.
The Falcons are the top seed, while Nease is the No. 2 seed.
The game was delayed 10 minutes in the first half after a fan was ejected from the stadium for making an unflattering remark to the referee. The fan was escorted out by two law enforcement officers.
Both McKinley and Lassetter addressed the crowd asking for more positive behavior.
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