MUSKEGON — It took nearly 140 minutes of game action between Hart and Orchard View this season for either team to score, but once the Pirates did, there was no turning back.
After Anthony Parra opened the scoring with a penalty kick with 20:29 to go in Wednesday's district semifinal, Damian Hernandez followed with an impressive shot to the near post from the left side just a minute later, enabling Hart to cruise to a 2-0 victory and earn a shot at Whitehall in the district finals.
Hart and OV played a scoreless tie earlier in October, so it wasn't a surprise when the first half of Wednesday's game was defensively minded as well. The Pirates in particular were strong on the back end, not allowing a shot on goal all night and recording six of them in the first half. They were in double digits before the night was out.
It wasn't entirely a stress-free half, though. At one point, keeper Kaleb Edenburn had to leave the game after getting banged up, though he eventually returned. OV put a few Hart hearts in throats late in the first half when it got free of the Pirate defense and put one in the net - but the sideline official had already raised his flag for an offsides call before that goal was scored, nullifying the tally.
Despite that brief hiccup, and despite remarkable inexperience - Hart has only four seniors, and most players in the lineup are underclassmen - the Pirates played with great confidence throughout the game, not letting the pressure of district play get to them.
"They surprise me every day, every game," Hart coach Guillermo Ortega said. "It's little things like that, when I just see the hunger they have every minute. We didn't allow them a shot. Things like that, you wouldn't expect from a team that's mostly full of freshmen, and they execute great. They're coachable. They listen. They trust each other. It's a blessing for me, and I'm just proud of them, and to be their coach."
Parra took a PK after an Orchard View foul in the box and calmly put it away. Ortega said he defers to his players, and particularly his captains, to select who will take PKs when that situation arises and has full confidence they will deliver when called upon.
Hernandez's goal a minute later all but sealed the win and showed off his prodigious soccer skill. Both players are freshmen.
"He's phenomenal, and he does it all the time in practice," Ortega said of Hernandez's goal. "He's very humble in everything he does. That's something normal that I see. It's crazy when a freshman can ball out like that. The IQ is there. The drive to go for goal is there, and they don't shy away from anything."
The Pirates, who were seeded No. 2 in the district, aren't satisfied with just making the district final, though; they want a championship, which would be the program's first since 2012. And to get it, they'll have to go through Whitehall, a team Ortega said Hart has never beaten in program history.
The Pirates nearly got the Vikings in September, losing 2-1. For Ortega, who played against Whitehall himself as a Pirate, there would be no better way to end his team's victory drought in the series.
"We've been thinking about it since we lost to them," Ortega said. "It's a great matchup for us. They're a great team, really disciplined, a tough team to beat.
"The job's not finished on our end. We want that district title. This is a good win for us, but we want that trophy."
