Orlando Gil knew something before anyone else Monday night.

Gil, South Warren’s highly productive junior midfielder, gathered a through ball near the top of the penalty area late in the second half of Monday’s Region 4 quarterfinal game against Franklin-Simpson. He stole a quick look at the goal standing maybe 18 yards away, and before connecting with the ball he already knew he had a goal.

“I just saw the ball, and I knew it was going in before I hit it,” Gil said. “I knew it was going in.”

Gil was right, and his second goal of the night proved a game-winner for the Spartans as they battled back for a 3-2 victory to earn a spot in Tuesday’s semifinals against Glasgow at Drakes Creek Middle School. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Franklin-Simpson (10-6) gave the Spartans a major scare, and predictably Wildcats senior forward Caleb Wilson played the role of boogeyman with flair and relish.

Wilson’s goal late in the first half knotted the score at 1-all after Gil had given the Spartans an early lead. Wilson gathered in a through ball, snaked through two defenders to draw Spartans goalkeeper Ryan Bilbrey into a futile charge before flicking a shot inside the left post. Already Kentucky’s all-time goal scorer in boys’ soccer, Wilson’s last tally was the 187th of his high school career.

“We just try to make sure we have pressure, cover and balance,” South Warren coach Tom Alexander said. “When he scored, we didn’t have it. He’s fast, he’s a clinical finisher and if he gets around one he’s going to bury it.”

The Wildcats seemed to carry that momentum over into the second half, and Wilson’s determined attack set up a go-ahead goal. Bilbrey managed to deflect Wilson’s initial shot with a diving save, but Franklin-Simpson’s David Melton was there to finish with a second-chance goal that put his team up 2-1 with 31:52 to play.

“Sunday I think we had practice, and we were all asking each other if we wanted to bunker in or we wanted to attack. I told them that if we get on this team quick, they’ll be shook.”

South Warren (9-7-5) did initially reel before regrouping in the final 20 minutes.

South Warren’s Anatoli Emina came up with a huge goal with 15:12 to play when he played a pinpoint through ball from Carlos Ramos in the penalty area and created enough space to snap off a left-footed shot that beat Wildcats goalkeeper Seth Slaughter.

Less than three minutes later, Gil struck for the second time for the goal that kept South Warren’s season alive.

“Anything can happen in the regional tournament, and to be honest we got outworked for half that game,” Alexander said. “And that’s how we went down. Luckily we were able to fight through it. We had a couple guys step up really big.”