Central rallies past Cathedral Catholic in PK thriller to reach CIF D2 Semifinals

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The road back to a championship wasn’t supposed to look like this but Central Union made sure it stayed alive.

The Spartans entered the night knowing they were two wins away from a return trip to the CIF State title game, but first they had to get through Cathedral Catholic at Cal Jones Field. And early on, it was the Dons who stunned the home crowd.

Cathedral Catholic earned a free kick opportunity in the opening minutes and delivered a perfect ball into the box that was headed home for the first goal of the night. Just like that, Central had given up its first goal of the game and the energy at Cal Jones Field went quiet.

It got worse.

Roughly ten minutes later, the Dons struck again in almost identical fashion. Another deep free kick, another dangerous ball sent into the box, and another header that found the back of the net. In a blink, the No. 1-seeded Spartans were down 2-0 on their home field, absolutely stunned as Cathedral Catholic seized control.

Central went into halftime trailing 2-0 with its season hanging in the balance.

But the second half told a completely different story.

The Spartans’ defense tightened up, shutting out the Dons for the remainder of regulation, and the offense began to find its rhythm. Central chipped away at the deficit, then leveled the match, and eventually completed the comeback with three unanswered goals to force a dramatic finish.

When the final whistle blew at the end of regulation, the score was deadlocked at 3-3, sending the match to penalty kicks.

That’s where Central delivered its biggest statement of the night.

The Spartans were clinical from the spot, winning the shootout 4-1 to secure a 3-2 victory and cap off one of the most resilient performances of their season. After staring down a two-goal deficit at home, Central refused to let its championship hopes slip away.

With the win, the Spartans advance to the CIF Division 2 semifinal and will now host No. 12 Otay Ranch on Wednesday for a spot in the CIF State title game.

It wasn’t pretty early but when it mattered most, Central Union proved why it’s still very much in the championship conversation.