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Bulls lose 3-2 on penalty kicks

VALRICO -- The teams could not have been more evenly matched.

Both had 12 shots, both keepers made four saves, and at the end of 100 minutes of regulation and overtime play, there was no score. Boca Raton Olympic Heights finally got the upper hand in the sixth round of penalty kicks to beat Bloomingdale 3-2 on Friday night and move on to next week's state final four at Pepin/Rood Stadium.

Bloomingdale goalkeeper Chris Sedlak was brilliant in the shootout, turning away two Lions' shots and scoring a goal of his own.

But Lions goalie Jesse Lobianco was the big hero, stopping three Bloomingdale shots and scoring the winner.

"Last year in the regional semifinals, we totally destroyed (Fort Lauderdale) Western but couldn't finish our chances, and we ended up losing on penalty kicks," Lobianco said. "So this year, I wanted to make sure we finished the job."

From the opening whistle, the match was marked by pressure defense and aggressive tackling from both sides.

Olympic Heights withstood some early pressure from the Bulls and had shots by Drew Golbin and J.P. Honore, but Sedlak made a pair of diving saves to stop them.

Bulls striker Tom Davison narrowly missed on a pair of direct free kicks in the second half, but his curving shots around the wall of Lions defenders went just wide.

In the 58th minute, Lions forward Asa Pepia wowed the crowd with a spectacular attempt on a bicycle kick, but it, too, sailed wide.

"This is what soccer is all about," Bulls coach Samuel Isajar said. "When you have two systems that are the same colliding, it makes a great game. I wish we could have won, but I still feel like our guys are winners."

Pepia and Leo Calle also both converted penalty kicks for the Lions. Sedlak and Boomer Morgan made kicks for the Bulls.

The Bulls' defense, which was solid all season, held the dangerous Pepia (28 goals) to two shots in the game. Zack Novistke man-marked Pepia, and Ryan Smith swept in the back.

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