Undefeated Boca Raton survives scare; South Broward guns for first boys soccer state title

Boca Raton’s boys soccer team remained undefeated, but it had to work overtime and ultimately ended the game in penalty kicks with a 4-3 (5-4 PKs) victory over a stubborn Windermere team on Thursday night at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.

Boca Raton (23-0-2) saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in the second half and went down two players because of blue cards, having to play the last 10 minutes of regulation and both overtimes (20 minutes) two players down.

Windermere (16-2-1) then took a 3-2 lead in the first overtime on a goal by Enzo Valiante before the Bobcats tied the game early in the second overtime on a penalty kick goal by Rafael Azevedo after the referees said a defender illegally touched the ball after Windermere goalkeeper Allan Gesualdo had set the ball for a goal kick.

Boca Raton nearly won it with 10 seconds left in overtime on a short-range blast by Christian Gonzalez, however, Gesualdo made the clutch save in traffic for the Marlins.

In the penalty kick shootout, after Gesualdo dove to the right to save the Bobcats’ Rafa Azevedo initial penalty kick shootout shot, the next five shooters – Gonzalez, Jayden Trautman, Diego Azevedo, Felipe Magahaes, and Giovanni Turquia converted to give Boca Raton the win.

Windermere’s first and sixth shooters in the PKs flew the goal.

Boca Raton coach Marcelo Castillo said his team had a goal of winning a state championship at the beginning of the season.

“However, we managed to do that today, which was incredible and not to take anything away from the victory,” Castillo said, “we are in that position that we dreamed about being in all season long, since the first day of tryouts.

“I am very proud of these boys, they could have easily folded,” he added. “To play almost 30 minutes of nine men versus 11 against another regional champion. They could have had every excuse in the book, but they listened to me, buckled down and did what I asked them to do tactically, and we almost won it, to be fair, in the final seconds of overtime.”

Boca Raton will play West Orange (14-4-1) for the 7A title on Saturday at 7 p.m. It would be the school’s fifth boys championship, the last coming in 2020.

The Bobcats seized a 2-0 lead in the game on a goal by Bryan Silva in the 13th minute and a goal by Martin Arredondo in the 55th minute when Samuel Holzhacker hit a blast from distance and the ball bounced off the hands of Windermere goalkeeper Allan Gesualdo and spilled out to Arredondo for a goal from 10 yards out.

Boca Raton then ran into some bad luck. Just before the second hydration break, the Bobcats were called for a penalty kick and Jose Moyetones scored for the Wolverines to cut the lead in half. Boca Raton also lost its first player to a blue card for the foul.

In the 71st minute, Windermere tied the game at 2-2 on a 20-yard free kick goal by Moyetones and the Bobcats lost their second player to another blue card, forcing the team to play nearly 30 minutes two players down. Boca Raton junior goalkeeper Carmine Ricciardi made several key saves to keep the Bobcats in the contest against the Wolverines, ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 7A and 22nd nationally.

The Bobcats are headed to their seventh state championship game where they have won four times (1990, 2010, 2016 and 2020). They lost in 2009, and 2014.

South Broward holds off Valrico in Class 6A semifinal

In their only previous trip to the state final four, South Broward boys soccer coach Lionel Brown experienced the sting of leading a game late only to lose it in overtime.

In 2020, Brown’s Bulldogs were ahead 3-2 against Niceville in the Class 6A title game with 19 minutes remaining before conceding a goal six minutes later and going on to lose 7-3 in double overtime.

The Bulldogs (19-1-3) are hoping the second time is a charm after defeating Valrico Bloomingdale 3-2 in the Class 6A state semifinal late Wednesday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s 1 p.m. championship clash against defending state champion Viera, who defeated Niceville in the other semifinal.

Dominick Tianich scored off a corner kick from Lucas Costa in the 24th minute to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. In the 31st minute, Costa picked up his second assist when his cross found William Perdomo, who beat two defenders and slotted the ball past Valrico goalkeeper Bloomingdale keeper Zane Hydock for a 2-0 lead.

“Early on, I thought the boys needed to dictate the tempo of the game,” Brown said. “We did that in the first 5-6 minutes to sort of feel them out. We found that they played more of a defensive structure and that played to our advantage because we like to possess the ball, move the ball up the field and pin them in their half.

“We were able to capitalize early,” Brown added. “We knew with the few games we watched, where they would be vulnerable. In a big game like this, going up 2-0 is the most dangerous lead to have. We were able to weather the storm and advance. Since the beginning of the season, I have been extremely confident of the group.”

Valrico cut the deficit to 2-1 when Brock Warren beat South Broward keeper Ivan Fernandez in the 44thminute. South Broward answered quickly in the 51st minute off a counter attack following a Valrico corner kick. Costa took off down the right flank and found Aldrin Ortiz who was able to chip the ball over the outstretched arms of Hydock just under the bar for a 3-1 lead.

Valrico wouldn’t go down without a fight as Kyle Plante nodded in a 40-yard free kick by Giovanni Morales to bring the Bulls within 3-2 in the 74th minute. Hydock nearly tied it in the final 30 seconds of the match when his header on a corner kick sailed just wide as he joined the attack.

Pembroke Pines Charter falls in 5A state semifinals

After 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, Pembroke Pines Charter’s boys soccer team and the nation’s No. 2-ranked team, Panama City Beach Arnold were scoreless in the Class 5A state semifinal.

Pembroke Pines Charter goalkeeper Massimo Lopez-Malo, who needed to make 11 saves during the contest, was replaced by fellow Jaguars’ keeper Ryan Romero for the penalty kicks. Pembroke Pines Charter coach Marc Lue Young said the move to insert Romero in for the penalty kick shootout was something he and the coaching staff had been planning for a couple of weeks.

Arnold scored on all four of their penalty kicks, while Pembroke Pines Charter’s Mateo Cortes and Gabriel Calderon converted the Jaguars’ first two shots before Marlins goalkeeper Josh Chandler made two diving stops on their next two attempts by Matthew Blackwood and Nicholas Prandini to push Arnold to the title game on Friday night where they will face Tampa Jesuit.

“It was a tough loss,” said Pembroke Pines Charter coach Marc Lue Young said, whose team reached the Class 5A state final in 2020 where they lost 5-4 to Tampa Jesuit. “It was a very even contest throughout with both teams having great chances to score. Both keepers were exceptional.

“Unfortunately, we did not finish our chances created and although we continued to create in overtime you never want to have it come down to penalties,” Lue Young added. “Although we played the No. 2 team in the state, we knew they never played a team like us. We came in confident, and we knew that we could take the game to them, which we did. It was just an unfortunate result for us.”