Jonathan Euceda's brace lifts Titans to win over Gulf Coast; Mariner girls beat Estero
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A roundup of games played on Monday, Jan. 17, and Tuesday, Jan. 18:
Boys Soccer
Golden Gate 3, Gulf Coast 0
The battle for the top spot in Southwest Florida against Golden Gate and Gulf Coast wasn’t close at all.
The top two teams in The News-Press/Naples Daily News Power Rankings, as well as the latest FHSAA Rankings, duked it out for 80 minutes, but it was Golden Gate coming out on top. The Titans won 3-0 over the Sharks, last year’s 7A Champs.
“It’s glad to see these guys playing well,” Golden Gate coach Andy Hernandez said. “They’re playing for each other, they’re playing as a good team right now. I already expect us to play good. It’s just a matter of the fact that this was a lot harder of a game for us.
“We were at home. We have that home-field advantage and play with an extra chip on our shoulder.”
Jonathan Euceda got things going early, capitalizing on a counterattack to put the Titans up 1-0 in the 17th minute. Euceda struck again 15 minutes later, putting another shot past the Gulf Coast keeper to double the lead.
“Sometimes on those counters, they come out of nowhere,” Hernandez said. “These guys play really well on the counter, and they look for each other and exploit the spaces. They just take advantage of that, especially when teams leave one guy back. They just take advantage with the speed and the space that we have.”
The Titans weren’t done in the first half, as Mateo Acuna struck on a third goal, going upper 90 to the right side in the 39th minute to put the game away.
Opportunities were limited in the second half for the Sharks, who couldn’t capitalize after having corner kicks on back-to-back possessions in the first half, prior to Euceda’s first goal.
The Titans (13-1-2) will host Cape Coral on Thursday, while the Sharks (12-3-3) will take on Barron Collier on the road.
— Alex Martin
Canterbury 8, SFCA 0: The Cougars cruised yet again in the Private 8, winning in the semifinal round. McLaren Baggett netted a pair of goals, while Peyton Messino, Ethan Wiese, Sam Schoensee, Harrison Ames, Will Hall, and Landon Wiese also scored.
Riley Johnson finished with three assists, while Baggett, Jason Kitzinger, Ethan Javedan, and Jimmy Parker had one apiece.
Mariner 2, Estero 2: The Tritons forced a late draw in the game, as two second-half goals were scored by Marcel Tovar, and Issac Sandoval. David Alexander assisted on Sandoval's goal.
Palmetto Ridge 6, South Fort Myers 3: Alejandro Zuniga had two goals, bringing his total to 21 on the year, while Isaiah Wall, Anthony Agamez, Sebastian Lavastida, and Sheidley Domercant all had one goal.
Girls Soccer
Mariner 3, Estero 2
Jami Hagy and the Tritons picked up a marquee road win, as they downed the Wildcats at Jeff Sommer Stadium.
The teams entered the matchup ranked inside the top five of The News-Press/Naples Daily News Power Rankings and showed why they're capable of making deep postseason runs.
Estero’s Alena Smyrnios 68th minute goal gave the Wildcats hope after battling back from a 3-1 halftime deficit but, it was the Tritons defense that stood tall to secure the win.
“Overall a good team effort,” Hagy said. “We had a lot of subs that went in and the girls really fought hard. To have the depth on the bench to be able to compete like that means a lot.”
The opening goal came two minutes into the matchup when sophomore Ryleigh Acosta found striking partner Sarah Paddock, who snuck the ball past the keeper into the bottom left corner.
Next would be Acosta’s turn to score, as she jumped in front of the Wildcats goalie’s kick and saw the ball bounce off her and roll into the back of the net.
“I just read where she was going to pass it and I just jumped in front of it,” Acosta said. “It rebounded, and I got lucky.”
Facing adversity down 2-0, the Wildcats responded within two minutes with a goal of their own thanks to North Greenville signee Isabella Gyurich. The senior captain knocked a shot past the Tritons goalkeeper on a corner kick set piece.
“It's just one thing we always talk about, you just never can give up,” Estero coach Will McArdle said. “Even when we're losing, you just have to ignore the score and focus on performing and playing, and just take it one goal at a time from there.”
The teams would cool down after a fiery start to the game, until the 28th minute when Acosta dished out her second assist to freshman Caroline Pelkofski.
Acosta is sitting at 20 goals and 18 assists, two assists away from her first 20-20 season. She had 18 goals and 16 assists as a freshman in 2020-21.
“For her to come in and put those kinds of numbers up shows what kind of player she is,” Hagy said. “She's constantly trying to lead this team.”
The Tritons will now head to North Port for their final regular-season game as they gear up and get ready for the postseason.
“We're really coming together as a team,” Hagy added. “I think it's just going to be great for the postseason and right now we need everybody and they’re all in, so it's good.”
— Izubee Charles
Fort Myers 3, Cape Coral 1: The Greenies stunned the shorthanded Seahawks, as Karlee Schmid, Kailani Cassazo, and Giana D'Altrui all scored. Laney Attuso and Samantha Degen both finished with assists, while Ava Lees was the player of the game.
In the loss for Cape, Cameron Fallacara scored off an assist from Mikala Allen.
North Fort Myers 15, Island Coast 0: The Red Knights enjoyed their 'Senior Knight', as Michelle Horan set the North Fort Myers assist record with 74 and counting. The FAU signee had two goals and six assists.
Evie McCarthy had five goals, Trishelle Lopez had three goals and an assist, Sophia Kern had two goals and an assist, while McKenna Cartmell, Avery Utt, and Hannah Billhorn each scored once.
Riverdale 8, Gateway 0: No stats provided.
Boys Basketball
Naples 63, Barron Collier 62: Garrett Hull picked up his 100th win Tuesday night, as the Golden Eagles got a huge win over the Cougars.
“Great district win for the Golden Eagles against Barron Collier," Hull said. "It was our Red Out game in honor of Kyle Fernstrom and you could really feel his presence in there tonight. Kyle Fernstrom was the manager of our basketball team back when I played and to many of us he was the 'heart and soul' of the team."
Kerry Brown led the way with 13 points, while Josh Similien finished with 11 points. Jonas Duclona had nine points.
Ida Baker 105, Oasis 67: The Bulldogs set a school record for points in a game, winning their sixth game in a row.
The Bulldogs were led by Kaiden Crossdale's game-high 38 points while teammate Ishmael Hajmoussa added 25 points. Teammate Kyle Wegelin chipped in with 13 points.
The Sharks were led by Nick Brown's team-high 26 points. With the win, Ida Baker moves to 9-5 on the season while Oasis falls to 3-12.
SFCA 64, CSN 41: The Seahawks were led by Jackson McAdams, who posted 14 points in the loss, while Brennan Ringhoffer scored 10 points.
"We were outscored 21-3 in the fourth quarter," CSN coach Greg Donahue said. "We have to score the ball against higher competition."
Canterbury 71, ECS 55: The Cougars jumped out to a 39-23 halftime lead before winning by 16. Austin Leslie had a team-high 13 points, while Noah Gergley and Jared Julmeus had 11 points apiece.
Seacrest Country Day 40, St. John Neumann 34: The Stingrays won in a Private 8 consolation against the Celtics, as Nick Cassano had 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Tarik Islamovic added 11 points and five rebounds in the win.
Girls Basketball
St. John Neumann 47, CSN 35: The Celtics moved to 15-3 on the year, as CSN was limited to nine points in the second half. Sophia McCartney had 16 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks, while Leah Martin-Gonzales finished with 14 points. Neumann will face ECS for the third time this season in the Private 8 Championship.
ECS 42, FBA 34: The Sentinels escaped with a win over the Lions after leading 34-32 at the end of the third quarter. Grace Dean led the Lions with 16 points in the losing effort.
Barron Collier 52, Naples 42: The Cougars got a win over their rivals as Deydra Ramos went off for 25 points in the win.
"A good game between two evenly matched teams," Barron coach Mike Hamburg said. "We played well in the fourth quarter to put the game away."
In the loss for Naples, Molly Richards had 19, while Annika Andersen chipped in with 12.
Gulf Coast 79, Golden Gate 35: The Sharks got a lopsided win over the Titans as Mikayla Jamarillo led the team with 15 points.
Oasis 52, Ida Baker 34: The Sharks got 15 points from Gabby Goldberg, while Brynn Stambaugh finished with 10 in the win over the Bulldogs.
Lehigh 59, Cypress Lake 19: No stats provided.
Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: HS Roundup: Golden Gate blanks Gulf Coast; Mariner girls beat Estero
