Blast forward Lucas Roque was a sophomore at Florida's Monarch High when he got his first taste of being a hero on the soccer field.
It was Monarch's first year of varsity soccer and Roque's team was playing a touted private school in the district playoffs. Despite being a heavy underdog, Monarch took the game into penalty kicks and Roque told his coach he wanted to take the final one.
Score and the Knights would advance. Miss and the shootout would continue, meaning the Knights could go home.
Roque scored.
He relished the responsibility, welcomed the pressure and savored the result.
The experience laid a foundation for Roque, who, in his fourth season with the Blast, has developed a knack for creating his finest work for the biggest moments of the most important games.
His latest masterpiece was two-fold, coming in a win over the Missouri Comets to clinch a trip to the Major Arena Soccer League's Ron Newman Cup Championship.
In the deciding game of the Eastern Conference finals, he tied the game with 1:14 left and then scored the game winner in the opening minute of the second overtime as the Blast won, 4-3.
"It always feels great, always a different feeling because it's part of the moment you're living," he said. "For me, it's one of the best feelings I can have. When you just score a goal it's incredible. When you score a winning goal, it's even more incredible. It's hard to describe. It's the best feeling."
The Blast now faces Mexico-based Soles de Sonora for the MASL championship with the series opener set for 6:05 p.m. on Sunday at Royal Farms Arena.
The teams will travel to Hermosillo, Mexico, for Game 2 on April 15 with game time set for 11 p.m. If the series is tied, a 15-minute mini-game will immediately follow to determine the champion.
Roque, a 28-year-old native of Sao Paolo, Brazil, doesn't know if he'll have to produce more late-game magic. But he'll be ready if the time comes.
Blast general manager Kevin Healey proved to be prophetic going into the playoffs. Despite clinching another Eastern Division title, the team hit an uncharacteristic skid at the end of the regular season by going 4-4 to finish with a 15-4 mark. The tough stretch coincided with a season-ending injury to leading scorer Vini Dantas.
When asked who would be the most vital player on offense in the postseason, Healey didn't hesitate: Roque.
Hampered by an early season hamstring injury that has kept him away from most practices, Roque has answered the call. After a 19-goal, seven-assist regular season, he has four goals and an assist in four postseason wins as the Blast swept the Syracuse Silver Knights before taking care of the Comets.
"Lucas is a winner," Healey said. "He's always prepared to play. He gives you the work ethic — not only being a great goal scorer, but defensively and he's a great leader just by the way he does things on the field. He's a player that can pick it up at big times. He's done it in the past and he's certainly doing it again this year. So we're relying on him for one more series."
Special players think and play differently late in the game when a goal is needed. While others may speed up their game, showing more urgency which often results in panic, the gifted finishers stay patient. Despite the clock crunch, they still let the game — and the ball — come to them and are ready to produce the big moments to make the difference.
Roque has developed that sense of calm. On the tying goal against Missouri, Tony Donatelli sent him a pass across the goal in the air that he cleanly struck for a half-volley goal. In overtime, Donatelli similarly found him again, this time Roque heading home the game winner.
"Sometimes as a coach, that may drive you crazy when you want to see a sense of urgency and he's still that calm, composed player," Blast coach Danny Kelly said. "But those situations call for that calmness. I think as a striker, you have to have ice in your veins to be in those situations and take advantage. There was no panic, no loss of composure and he knew exactly what he was doing and put the ball where it needed to go."
The more success Roque has, the more trust and confidence grows within the team. He's quick to credit his teammates for doing their part to allow him to do his.
"He just has a knack for scoring big goals for us," Donatelli said. "We always know he's going to be there and we can count on him at the end of big games. He's a big-time player and he obviously steps it up every year in the playoffs."
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