Durrance's late goal keeps George Jenkins alive

LAKELAND — William Durrance scored with 30 seconds remaining to lift George Jenkins past Orlando East River 2-1 on Wednesday night in the Class 6A, Region 3 boys soccer quarterfinals at Veterans Stadium.

With the win, Jenkins will host New Smyrna Beach the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. on Saturday. It will be a rematch of last year's regional quarterfinal game.

George Jenkins avoided overtime with late pressure in the final minute. Justin Franco launched his corner kick from the left corner into a mass of players in front of the goal. The ball deflected off a George Jenkins player, then an East River player to an open area about 15 yards beyond the far post.

Durrance came charging in from the 18-yard marker and drilled in the game-winner into the far left corner of the net giving George Jenkins its first lead of the night.

The Eagles (5-9-2) dominated the action early, outshooting East River 11-2, including 7-2 in the first half, but it was the Falcons (9-9-1) who struck first midway through the second half.

In the 67th minute, East River launched three shots on goal in a single flurry. Senior goalkeeper Zach Knapp blocked the first two shots, but the rebound resulted in a third-shot goal by Jose Molina for the game’s first score.

Two minutes later, George Jenkins tied the score when Durrance sent a long shot from deep out on the right wing to the front of the goal where teammate Spencer Gangwer scored on a header.

The Eagles controlled the ball the vast majority of the game, outshooting the Falcons 15-6.

“We outplayed them so much in that first half,” George Jenkins head coach Tanner Mosher said. “We (our staff) told the team at halftime that we did not need to make any tactical changes. We didn’t need a different approach because we were already getting quality shots on goal. We were determined to stick with our game plan and felt like our guys would start getting the ball into the net.”