The Cypress Bay girls’ soccer team advances with shutout; Cardinal Gibbons also moves on

After coming so close to that elusive first state championship each of the past two years, only to have to settle for a runner-up trophy, perhaps this will be the year for the Cypress Bay girls’ soccer team.

Even though it was only their seventh game of the year, the Lightning came out clicking on all cylinders Tuesday afternoon, scoring a goal in the fourth minute and ultimately won 4-0 against Palmetto in a Region 4-7A final at Tropical Park Stadium.

Cypress Bay advances to its third consecutive state semifinal and will host Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Friday at either 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Douglas edged Vero Beach in a penalty kick shootout to win the Region 3-7A final.

“Anytime we let a team play with us, we tend to struggle releasing the ball and getting it into the net,” said Lightning coach Kate Dwyer. “If we take the lead early like we did today and against Gulf Coast last week [a 4-1 semifinal win], we tend to take our opponent out of their game and we take control ourselves which is what we did today.”

Dwyer watched Hannah Mason score off an assist Mila Erceg in the game’s fourth minute for a quick 1-0 lead and then watcher her team dominate the remainder of the first half as the Panthers (9-3-1) failed to record a shot on goal.

When senior captain Megan Morgan scored off an assist from Sarah Rubio 16 minutes before halftime, Cypress Bay enjoyed a 2-0 lead and was in complete control.

“We always like to come out strong because sometimes we get caught up in the moment and come out a little softer than we like but that obviously wasn’t the case today,” said Morgan, who is headed off to play for Florida State next fall. “We came out hard, scored early and that allowed us to seize control of the game.”

Camila Jimenez, an Alabama State commit, scored off another assist from Rubio five minutes into the second half to make it 3-0 and then wrapped up the scoring with an unassisted breakaway goal just before the second half water break.

They won it with a “3” written on the back of their hands.

After her No. 2 nationally-ranked team came up painfully short two years ago (losing 1-0 to Palm Harbor University in the final on a late fluke goal), Dwyer began calling her players over before last year’s postseason games and writing a number on the back of their hand indicating how many more games they needed to win in order to reach the elusive summit of a state title.

She was at it again Tuesday and will now write a “2” on their hand before Friday’s state semifinal.

Cardinal Gibbons advances

For a long time, playoff victories were hard to come by for the Cardinal Gibbons girls’ soccer team.

But these days even when the Chiefs aren’t at their sharpest, they still find ways to win as they did on Tuesday afternoon at Gulliver.

On the strength of goals by senior Deborah Bien-Aime and freshman Juliana Torres, Cardinal Gibbons secured its third consecutive regional championship with a 2-0 victory.

“This year has been crazy in itself and another tough path getting through American Heritage in the district and then beating them again in another battle,” Gibbons coach Margo Flack said. “Today wasn’t our best but when you get in the playoffs you take the win and you get through it.”

Cardinal Gibbons (10-2-1), a state runner-up each of the past two seasons, will host either Orlando Bishop Moore or Merritt Island on Friday night in a Class 4A state semifinal at 7 p.m. The Chiefs sit two wins away from potentially winning their first state title.

“To get to the final four for three years in a row is something to be proud of,” Flack said. “We’re on a mission and we haven’t gotten there yet.”

The Chiefs eliminated Gulliver (9-10-2) for the second consecutive season in the regional final round. Gibbons controlled the pace from the outset and had possession on Gulliver’s half for the majority of the match’s 80 minutes creating numerous chances.

The Chiefs held a 6-0 shot advantage without anything to show for it until Torres controlled a ball on a feed from sophomore Macy Berg and knocked it into the back of the net with 14:58 left in the first half.

“You need to give everything to get to the finals,” Torres said. “I saw the opportunity and threw my feet and just saw the ball roll into the back of the net.”

Torres is one of two freshmen and three underclassmen overall in a starting lineup which included six seniors in Tuesday’s match.

Bien-Aime has been one of the best among the group this season and ended any hopes Gulliver had in the second half when she kicked home a ball off a blocked shot with eight minutes left.

Gibbons has relied on its veterans to stay on course especially this season with the obstacles presented on and off the field by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone individually has come together and we know what it takes especially with a shortened season and we’ve focused on winning,” Bien-Aime said.

— ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ

Doral wins

Doral Academy goalie Andrew Ginestra didn’t play a single minute of the 80 minutes preceding his team’s 2-2 deadlock with Fort Lauderdale that eventually led to a penalty kick shootout.

But when he stepped on to the field, he was nothing short of brilliant when, on three consecutive PKs by Fort Lauderdale players, Ginestra stoned every one of them. The three Firebird players — Matthew Mazzei, Alexander Diaz-Martinez and Josh Lopes — converted theirs to win the PK round 3-0 and come away with the victory in a Region 4-6A final on Tuesday night at Doral.

“I’ve spent the last two weeks doing nothing but working on penalty kicks so I knew if the game got to PKs, I would be going in,” said Ginestra as he was mobbed by his happy teammates. “It’s all in the eyes. I try to look at their eyes after they set the ball down to see if I can get an idea which way they’re going.”

The Firebirds advance to Friday’s 6A state semifinal where they will host either Lakeland George Jenkins or Viera at 7 p.m.

Daniel Romero and Enzo Traini scored Doral’s two regulation goals while Mario Simoes scored both goals for the Flying Ls.

— BILL DALEY