When Enrique Lopez’ shot found the back of the net Tuesday with just over nine minutes remaining in overtime, it shook a monkey off the back of the Sturgis boys soccer program. It was the decisive goal in the Trojans’ 3-2 victory over Portage Central — the first win ever over the Mustangs.
“It was a battle of the midfielders,” said Sturgis coach Luis Olivares, whose team improved to 10-4-2. “Portage Central came strong and surprised Sturgis with an early goal, but Sturgis came back with the equalizer before the end of the first half.”
The tying goal came off a foot of Jonathan Gonzalez with an assist from Lopez. Gerardo Ortega scored Sturgis’ first goal (first half), which was assisted by Luis Munoz.
“Sturgis never gave up and stayed focused on the game and found the net with three minutes remaining in the second half, forcing the game to go to overtime,” Olivares said. “I am very proud of my players; they were able to maintain cool heads and remain focused even when we were behind on goals.”
Portage Central dropped to 10-3-3 on the year.