CULLMAN – Plenty of personnel made valuable contributions to Cullman's 2-0 shutout of Florence in the second round of the AHSAA Class 6A soccer playoffs Tuesday evening.
But the ones who really stepped up their performance when needed were Miguel Tizapa-Robles, Cole Gerding, Zane Manley, Washington Sheffield, Isaac Rodriguez and goalkeeper Jaron Potter.
Tizapa-Robles scored both goals and has scored three consecutive in two rounds of the playoffs. His goal in overtime last Saturday propelled Cullman by Fort Payne 4-3 and on to a matchup with Area 16 champion Florence.
Potter was on his toes all night. The junior fought off 22 shots on goal by the Falcons, 12 in the first half and 10 during the final half. At one span, Potter turned away Florence on four opportunities in just one minute.
Florence held the upper hand for much of the opening half, outshooting Cullman 10-0 before the Bearcats finally got an opportunity to score.
But Rodriguez's shot hit the right bottom of the net and bounced away. That opportunity enabled Cullman to finish with eight shots on goal in the final 19:00 of the first half.
Cullman attacked Florence's right around the 6:00 mark of the stanza. Sheffield broke toward the goal on the right, then had a cross kick that Tizapa-Robles ran down in the left corner. He moved toward scoring range and put the ball into the net for a 1-0 Cullman advantage.
Florence again had several chances to score before halftime. The Falcons' last chance ended with an offsides call as time expired with the visitors down by one goal.
With Florence having an advantage by controlling the ball more on Cullman's side than the Bearcats did in the second half, they were turned away by Potter's ability to knock down shot attempts near the net and others slowing up the Florence attack enough in recovery defense.
Tizapa-Robles gave Cullman a 2-0 lead when he directed the ball by the goalie with 8:00 remaining. That changed the course of the contest as Cullman stood aggressively and Florence was unable to break onto the scoreboard.
Coach Casey Harbin's Bearcats are now 14-6-1 with the Falcons finishing the year at 15-6-3.
Cullman meets the winner of the Decatur-Albertville game in the quarterfinal round with date and time to be announced later.
Image: Cole Gerding (5)
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