Soccer Roundup: Canterbury, Fort Myers, Naples all win boys regional titles, headed to state
A roundup of boys and girls' regional final soccer matches played on Tuesday, Feb. 14 and Wednesday, February 15.
Class 6A-Region 3
Fort Myers 3, East Lake 0
An impenetrable defense and a group of hungry seniors was a perfect recipe for the Green Wave to punch a ticket to the Final Four on Wednesday.
The dominant display against the Eagles earned Fort Myers their first regional championship since 2006. The Green Wave (20-2-1) will head to Niceville, which beat Gainesville Wednesday, to play in the state semifinal on Saturday night.
“Job is not done,” head coach Chris Reid said.
The Greenies have their sights set high because of a loaded class of 15 seniors. Reid recalled telling them – as freshmen before their first JV game – that this was one of the deepest groups he had seen.
Boys Soccer Finals: Golden Gate, Verot, CSN, Canterbury join Fort Myers, Mariner as champs
Soccer Region Semifinals: Fort Myers, Naples, Canterbury boys, Mariner, North, ECS girls win
“I knew when this group came in this was a special group,” he said. “It’s showing right now.”
Fort Myers, the top seed in the region, got on the board 20 minutes in off a mighty Trent Britton throw-in headed into the goal by Mike Krzeminski.
“I’m honestly just blessed to have that throw – me and Michael have a good connection,” Reid said.
Britton takes most of the Greenies' throw-ins, which he can consistently launch across the field.
“He drills it – he doesn’t just float it up, so it makes it hard on the defense,” Reid said.
In less than a minute, the Greenies scored again off a punt from goalkeeper Alessandro Chacon headed toward the East Lake goal. Ricardo Louis saw the Eagles were unprepared and took advantage to score.
The Green Wave back line made scoring opportunities for the Eagles rare throughout the night.
Early in the second half, the referees assessed a red card against East Lake’s Nick Pullos, resulting in a domino effect that led to a blue and another red card against the Eagles. This gave Fort Myers a two-man advantage the rest of the game.
“They couldn’t get any chances at all, so they were frustrated so they started wanting to do things that they don’t need to be doing,” Reid said. “That made the game a lot easier for us.”
Gabe Da Rocha buried a left-footed goal for the Greenies’ third and final score of the night.
With the win, Fort Myers recorded their fifth consecutive shutout – the team has not given up a goal this postseason.
“They’re a veteran group,” Reid said. “They know how to play the position, play the system that we play and they’re playing it to perfection right now.”
With a state semifinal a few days away, the Greenies were quick to echo their coach’s sentiments that there is more for them to accomplish.
“Obviously, we’re hyped off of this game, coming off the win, but we’ve got to keep our minds, obviously stay focused on our main goal – keep going because we’re not done,” Krzeminski said.
As Reid observed with this group four years ago, the best is yet to come.
“We’re happy and we’re energized and we’re going to take tonight off,” he said. “Come tomorrow, we’re back at work because we’re going for the victory.”
— Dustin Levy
Class 5A-Region 3
Naples 2, Osceola 1
Thanks to plenty of defense, the Naples High boys' soccer team was in a position to win its first region championship since 1995 on Wednesday night. Yet it was just enough offense late in the game that propelled the Golden Eagles to a berth in the state semifinals.
Hector Avendano and Ty Collins scored late in the second half as the Golden Eagles beat Osceola Fundamental 2-1 in the Class 5A-Region 3 title game Wednesday at Staver Field.
Avendano tipped in a loose ball in front of the goal off a corner kick with 8:24 remaining and Collins got an insurance goal three minutes later.
The Golden Eagles will play at Tampa Jesuit on Saturday night in the Final Four.
One key for the Golden Eagles: Osceola goalkeeper Stryker Williams was ejected for handling the ball away from the goal early in the second half so Naples had a one-man advantage for the rest of the night.
“It was a tight game, but we had only 10 men for the second half, while Naples had 11,” said Osceola coach Ian Williams. “But that’s not to take anything away from Naples, because they played a great game. It was a tough break, but soccer is like that sometimes.”
The key for the Golden Eagles was dedication and good defense.
“I am elated right now, all of us are,” said Naples coach Bob Prange. “The players believed in the system and worked hard at it. I think it’s different from the system they all see in club soccer, but when we play as a team they believe in each other. On the corner kick, we moved up the backline players, and it was a risk that paid off.”
There were minuscule scoring chances most of the game, and most of them belonged to Naples. With 7:12 left in the first half Cason Shepard charged at the Warrior goal all alone with the ball, but his shot trickled wide. Two minutes later, Shepard put a shot that Williams tipped over the crossbar and out of bounds.
The game was played chiefly around the midfield line in the second half.
— Thomas P. Corwin
Class 2A-Region 3
Canterbury 1, Bradenton Christian 0
After steamrolling through the postseason with sizable wins, it took Canterbury a contest with a single goal to get them to the state semifinals.
Josh Wiese's first-half curl claimed for the Cougars their third straight regional championship with a 1-0 win over perennial postseason foe Bradenton Christian on Wednesday night. It was the fifth year in a row that Canterbury eliminated the Panthers in regional play.
"I think it was exactly what we needed going into these next two games because we're going to have opponents that are going to keep games tight," Canterbury coach Jared Rust said. "We don't expect blowouts going into a state semifinal and a state championship if we get there. So being able to have that game today and kind of feel what the grind felt like and just knowing that you needed to continue to do what you're doing and that 1-0 is OK. It's enough when it comes to the soccer match."
The Cougars secured the top seed in the state, which means they get to host St. John Paul II of Tallahassee for a Class 2A state semifinal on Saturday. Home field has been particularly friendly for the Cougars, who have only lost once in their last 43 games.
The Panthers played to their strengths, keeping their 11 back for most of the game to prevent the Cougars from completing a coordinated assault. Goalie Charles Nelson was also superb, stopping shots from various angles and kickstarting the Bradenton Christian offense by blasting the ball to the other half of the field.
"We had watched a ton of film," Bradenton Christian coach Patrick Cunneen said. "We're not as skilled. We have four club players compared to 25 club players. So when our idea is to use our strength, which is in the air and our size, to hold people off, I thought we did a great job of that in the first half."
But it was the Cougars taking to the air that made the difference. Wiese took a shot from outside the 18-yard box, arcing it past Nelson.
"I was dribbling in the middle and I heard like four people say 'Shoot it!' and I banged it," Wiese said.
The Panthers used their distance game to make what they initially thought was the tying goal later in the first half. Owen Cunneen took a free kick from about 35 yards out and drove it all the way into the net. However, after a short discussion between the referee and linesman, the play was ruled offside.
"It's sad to be over, but it is what it is," Cunneen said. "The better team won tonight."
— Dave Montrose
GIRLS SOCCER
Class 5A-Region 3
Mariner 3, North Fort Myers 0
For the past three seasons, Mariner has had a No. 20 on their roster who’s proven she’s more than capable of taking over a game at will.
Ryleigh Acosta didn’t want to lose in the regional final. Not against her rival, not with the goal of winning back-to-back state titles. And not down four starters.
A pair of goals in the second half from the Florida commit proved to be the difference, as Mariner advanced to their second consecutive Final Four with a 3-0 win over North Fort Myers.
“This feels really good,” Acosta said. “I was just really happy that we pulled through. We didn’t have the best first half, but we came together as a team and did it for our injured players and everyone else.
“I felt like were definitely the underdogs. A lot of us were nervous ourselves, but we just had to play for each other and push through.”
Soccer Region Semifinals: Fort Myers, Naples, Canterbury boys, Mariner, North, ECS girls win
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Acosta’s first goal came in the 57th minute, as she shot crossbody from the right side, getting a shot to go just inside the left post to go up 1-0. A mere 12 minutes later after the final water break, Acosta broke free again and chipped a shot over North goalkeeper Aliyah Morgan to double the lead.
“We just really focused on staying together as a team,” Mariner coach Jami Hagy said. “At halftime, we needed more energy. It was kind of down in the first half. Our girls talked it up, brought themselves together, and came out with a fire in the second half.
“She’s been a Triton for a long time, with the family ties. She’s just spectacular. She goes out there with that fire, and there’s no one here that can keep her out of that goal.”
Despite North getting some quality looks early on, including a shot at point blank range with Mariner keeper Lataya Simmons on the ground, the Red Knights were shut out for the fifth time this season. Junior forward Sophia Kerns was dressed as if she could play after sustaining a lower leg injury earlier this year, but she was only cleared to warm up, per North Fort Myers coach Nick Erickson.
North had their chances early on, but couldn’t grab a lead to put Mariner in the position of chasing a goal. Had the Red Knights scored, the numbers suggest they would’ve been regional champions. North was 14-0-1 when scoring a goal.
“Can’t miss your opportunities,” Erickson said. “I thought they kinda took a little bit of momentum six minutes in, in the second half. In the first half, you’ve got to at least put one of those in the back of the net. I felt that we had two that we should’ve at least gotten on frame. We had two great kicks in range that we don’t get on frame. I thought that was the difference.
"At the end, that is what it was. We were taking numbers out of the back. Their one big chance, they nailed it. Our chances, and I thought we had a tie there in the end with (Hannah) Busenbark. It just sailed over the bar. It was one of those nights where we were unable to put one between the pipes.”
It was freshman Carly Paz who scored the final goal of the game in the 79th minute, putting the icing on the cake of a solid performance in the second half from the defending champs. Paz has been a mainstay in the lineup, getting better at her position by the game.
“It’s their time to shine,” Hagy said of her newcomers to the starting lineup. “They’ve wanted time all year, and this is their chance to step up. They know it. They’re doing a great job. We overcame it with the four starters down tonight. It was a great team effort in the second half. We picked it up. We didn’t want to go down.”
Tuesday’s mood postgame was a stark contrast to what occurred after Friday night’s tilt with Naples. There was far more jubilation on the sidelines following their win against North, while against the Golden Eagles, there wasn’t much fanfare despite winning 2-0. The Tritons lost Stephanie Saracione and Keyara Blissett to injury in that game in consecutive minutes.
“We won the game, but the two injuries we sustained that game was pretty heartfelt to the team,” Hagy said. “We knew we needed to win this game again, like last year. The girls focused on that all week and did what we needed to do.”
Added Acosta: “I think it’s obviously because we took the district from us. We were a few players down, and that was hard. We didn’t have the best first half, but pushing through and scoring three goals in the second was a big thing for us.”
Mariner (17-4-1) will have their longest road trip of the season, traveling to Tallahassee to take on Lincoln in the Class 5A State Semifinals at Gene Cox Stadium. The winner will face either American Heritage or Cypress Creek in the Class 5A Championship in DeLand next Friday, Feb. 24.
— Alex Martin
Class 2A-Region 3
Shorecrest Prep 5, Evangelical Christian 3
Alexa Bereczki's second-half goal pulled the Sentinels within one, but ECS could not get the equalizer as it fell to the region's top seed in the 2A-3 final.
Eighth-grader Taylor Foss had a great opportunity to tie the game in the closing minutes but the Shorecrest goalie made a diving save. The Chargers used a counter-attack with ECS having all its players up pressing the attack to score a late insurance goal.
Claire Valentine and Rachel Wiltgen, on a corner kick by Foss, scored for ECS (13-3-1) in the first half and Valentine assisted on Bereczki's goal.