The Villages, Fla. — South Lake High School pulled off an impressive comeback against The Villages Charter School, rallying from a three-goal deficit at halftime to claim a thrilling 5-4 preseason victory. Caleb Etienne, Joseph Lightfoot, and Melvin Rivera led the Eagles’ second-half resurgence, scoring four unanswered goals to turn the tide in their favor.

The Villages looked dominant early on, racing to a 2-0 lead with quick goals from forwards Globig and Snay. Despite an early response from South Lake’s Caleb Etienne, who netted a goal midway through the first half to cut the lead to 2-1, The Villages added two more before halftime, widening the margin to 4-1 and seemingly putting the game out of reach.

(Caleb Etienne scored two goals. It was an impressive evening for him and there is much to build upon.)

However, halftime adjustments from South Lake’s head coach Josh Castleman proved pivotal. Choosing to keep his starters in the game while The Villages rested theirs, Castleman’s squad capitalized on the opportunity. Etienne sparked the comeback with a second goal, narrowing the score to 4-2 just minutes into the second half. Joseph Lightfoot followed quickly, and Melvin Rivera tied the game moments later, sending South Lake’s bench into a frenzy.

With momentum fully on South Lake’s side, The Villages reinserted their starters in hopes of stemming the Eagles offense. But South Lake kept up the pressure, and with around 18 minutes remaining, South Lake found the back of the net and pulled ahead 5-4 which would prove to be the winning goal.

(Head coach Josh Castleman is in his first season as South Lake High’s head soccer coach.)

The Eagles held on for the win, despite a late scare when midfielder David Bustamante sustained an injury and had to be carried off the field by his teammates. Coach Castleman praised his team’s resilience, especially in a comeback that showcased both their young talent and veteran leadership.

“We have some young guys who are going to get a lot of opportunities and some older guys who will help us out this year,” Castleman said post-game. “This was a great comeback win for us and it’s great to come out of the preseason with a win.”

For The Villages, the loss was an early-season lesson as they adjust to life without last year’s lead goal scorer, Michael Floridan, who netted 33 goals and has graduated. Head coach Anderson DaSilva used the game to experiment with formations and new players, hopeful they’ll hit their stride before their season opener against Lake Minneola next week.

While the game was preseason, South Lake’s rally signals promise for a team that won only four games last season, making the Eagles a team to watch as they look to build on the momentum of this hard-fought victory.