Horacio Parhan scored his seventh goal of the event in the 89th minute, helping Honduras 5 Stars defeat Universitario 4-2 in the Copa Latina championship at Ted Hendricks Stadium.

Kevin Osorio scores the second goal of the first half for Honduras 5 Stars against Universitario during the final of the 2009 Copa Latina soccer tournament, Sunday, March 8, 2009 at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah.

BY SANTOS A. PEREZ

Horacio Parhan found the appropriate time to clinch the tournament’s top scorer award.

With Honduras 5 Stars clinging to a one-goal lead and enduring Universitario Uruguay’s late pressure, Parhan secured 5 Stars’ victory and second consecutive Copa Latina championship Sunday night.

Parhan scored his seventh goal of the tournament in the 89th minute, as 5 Stars defeated Universitario 4-2 in the Copa Latina final before about 4,000 fans at Ted Hendricks Stadium.

”Thank God the shot went in,” Parhan said. “We already knew that any opponent which entered the final would be a difficult one. We got a bit careless and they kept putting us in a corner.”

Parhan received Juan Yalet’s crossing pass and beat Universitario goalkeeper Gustavo Aragolaza with a shot near the 6-yard box. The goal earned Parhan the tournament’s Golden Boot award. His teammate, Orlando Bueso, who scored earlier in the match, finished with six goals.

”The team knew how to respond at the end,” 5 Stars coach Danny Bueso said. “What can you say? We are champions again.

“We dedicate this championship to all the Hondurans here in Miami. We are also very thankful for their support.”

Universitario put 5 Stars on the retreat, cutting into a 3-0 deficit with two goals during a three-minute sequence late in the second half.

Honduras 5 Stars seemed comfortably ahead when Fausy Rodriguez scored three minutes into the second half for its three-goal advantage. But Universitario reduced the lead on Patrick Janvier’s goal in the 79th minute. Janvier converted a shot inside the 6-yard box, beating 5 Stars goalkeeper Ryan Cooper.

Jamil Jean-Jacques scored on a penalty kick three minutes later, cutting the deficit to 3-2. John Pulido of 5 Stars fouled Fabrice Noel inside the penalty area, resulting in Jean-Jacques’ attempt. Universitario had two opportunities to tie the match, but Stuart Duffin’s seventh-foul kick rolled wide left in the 86th minute and Noel’s header hit the crossbar, two minutes later.

”You cannot describe the thrills we are enjoying now,” 5 Stars captain Orlando Bueso said. “Copa Latina means a lot to us here in Miami. It is a tremendous achievement.”

From the outset, 5 Stars controlled the ball and served notice when Parhan’s shot deep in the goal area sailed above the crossbar in the fourth minute. The constant pressure finally paid off on Orlando Bueso’s goal. Bueso headed in Walter Ramirez’s crossing pass from the left wing for his sixth goal of the tournament.

Instead of protecting its late first-half goal, 5 Stars continued attacking and struck again in the 40th minute, as Kevin Osorio’s goal increased the lead to 2-0. Ramirez centered a pass from the left wing and found Osorio, who converted on a 20-yard shot.