Girls soccer: Boca Raton surges back to region final with 'offensive explosion'
BOCA RATON — The Boca Raton Bobcats turned a regional semifinal into another late-night scrimmage as they sailed over Spanish River 7-1 at home on Friday night.
This result was no shock to anyone watching as Boca (18-3) was the clear favorite going into the matchup. They were not only district champions this season but have a squad filled with talent in all positions.
In the first half, the Bobcats took the early lead, scoring two goals in 10 minutes.
The first was by junior Laine Willis in the fifth minute, after a pass from junior Ava Cooker. She let it fly from the 20-yard line to open the scoring with style.
Also scoring for Boca were sophomore Vanessa Straub, and juniors Sarah Coelho, Marina Klemetsmo, Haley Walls and Madison Villanti.
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Ready for an offensive explosion
The Bobcats were preparing for this moment.
Their most recent games have been close contests with scorelines of just a goal or two. Going into this semifinal, they were ready to give it their all.
“We’ve kind of been building to the regionals by winning some tight games and we were ready for offensive explosion,” said head coach Rachel Grimes. “It was a great couple days of practice and the girls were ready, they brought it.”
The last time the Bobcats won by more than two goals was on Jan. 3 against West Boca Raton.
Grimes has taught the team that a win is much more than a scoreline but playing well as a team and taking advantage of being in front of the net.
“I think the girls had to realize that it's tough to win in the playoffs and it's tough to score. We really focused on moving the ball just that understanding that it takes a little bit more to score in the playoffs finally kind of came around and I knew this was enough, it was fun to see.”
Spanish River walks away with heads held high
It is never easy to lose a game, let alone a region semifinal by six goals. But the Sharks took it and walked away with pride.
Head coach Kevin Turner shed some light on their performance.
“We knew it was going to be a hard night… there's six players that played in that last game that didn't play tonight. It's hard. I credit the girls that did play, the girl that scored the goal tonight.
We're doing it with players that we didn't necessarily expect to play 80 minutes of a regional semifinal. The credit to those kids, they gave it everything they had.”
Despite missing six players from their previous games, Turner still believed that it would not have changed the outcome but in fact be “more competitive.”
“I'm not going to disrespect them (Boca Raton). They're an amazing group of kids. If we had those (missing) players, we'd be competitive.”
“We had a freshman playing in goal tonight, and (seven) freshmen all over the field. We have a squad stacked with juniors and Team Boca talent.”
Despite their harsh contest, Turner will look toward the brighter side and be proud of his girls who put in a valuable effort against a Palm Beach County "Goliath."
“This is a positive because at this point in the season, there are schools who wish they could be in our position. I want these kids to realize that this is my 23rd season doing this, we have won many titles here but nothing is guaranteed.”
With a team filled with freshmen, the Sharks will look to continue their development as the years go by.
“We have a lot of freshmen and they will get their chances," Turner said. "They may never play in a regional semifinal again, so I hope they take every moment that comes to them.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton girls soccer returns to region final with 'offensive explosion'
