Heritage’s Marcial, U-School’s Estremedoyro are Broward Girls’ Soccer Coaches of the Year
American Heritage is no stranger to winning girls’ soccer state championships. But it had been four years since it had claimed its most recent title — its longest drought since it won its first back in 2000.
That changed this season as coach Cindy Marcial led the Patriots back to the top.
And at NSU University School, coach Diego Estremedoyro has helped build a rising powerhouse which reached new heights this season by advancing to its first state final.
As such, Marcial and Estremedoyro are the Miami Herald’s Girls’ Soccer Coaches of the Year for the 2022-23 season.
Estremedoyro and his staff did a great job turning around a team that had gone 5-9 last season and a program that had never even won a regional playoff game into a state title contender.
University School won a district championship and first regional title before falling against mighty Montverde Academy in the state final. But with a roster of predominantly underclassmen starters, it could just be the beginning of a sustained run for the Sharks.
“When I talked to the girls just now, I reminded them that we were a 5-9 team last year and how far we’ve come in such a short period of time,” said Estremedoyro after the loss at state. “In order to win, you’ve got to learn to lose. That said, it’s still a tough moment right now because it stings to come this far and come up short.”
Marcial is the Class 7A-5A winner, and she’s no stranger to this award, having guided Heritage to four prior state titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019). The Patriots made it five this season including 12th overall which ranks third on the state’s all-time list behind only Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (15) and Orange Park St. Johns Country Day (14).
To get there, the Patriots needed to overcome county rival Archbishop McCarthy, who entered the postseason having lost only one match.
Heritage got the job done with a 1-0 victory in the regional finals on one of the many clutch postseason goals from sophomore Sami Villaverde. Then, led by 7A-5A Player of the Year Nyema Freeman and its defense, Heritage survived a penalty kick shootout to beat Cape Coral Mariner in the final. Sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Miliffe made two clutch saves to secure the win.
“The last few years have been a little tricky,” said Marcial after winning the title. “We had a lot of upperclassmen, depended on them but this year, we only had two seniors, with a few starting freshmen and sophomores, three groups of sisters, an aunt, a niece. We just bonded more as a team and that can be really important for long term success. It feels great to be back on top.”
