Lourdes’ Fique, Palmer Trinity’s Dieke are Dade Girls Soccer Coaches of the Year

Lourdes Academy finally got back over the hump with its first state championship since 2020. Palmer Trinity made a run to get back to the state title game for the first time since 2012.

As the coaches of two of the best teams in South Florida, Lourdes’ David Fique and Palmer Trinity’s Ifeoma Dieke are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Girls’ Soccer Coaches of the Year.

With Fique at the helm, the Bobcats are a regular fixture in the final four, but struggled for the last five years to bring a third state championship home to Miami, falling in the state championship in four of the previous five years. In 2026, Lourdes finally ended to the drought by winning the Class 5A championship, with Fique winning his first state title taking over as the Bobcats’ coach in 2022.

This is Fique’s fifth straight season as one of the Herald’s Miami-Dade Girls’ Soccer Coaches of the Year. Fique, who is the Miami-Dade County Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year for Classes 7A-5A this year, now has filled the biggest gap left in his resume.

Dieke, who was also one of the Herald’s Dade County Girls’ Soccer Coaches of the Year in 2022 along with Fique, filled a big gap left her resume, too, by reaching her first state championship as a coach.

Dieke, who is the Miami-Dade County Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year for Classes 4A-1A this year, has consistently positioned the Falcons as one of the best teams in the region throughout her tenure, but helped Palmer Trinity reach a new level in 2026. The Falcons scored an eight-goal win in the final four and only fell short in the Class 2A championship when the game came down to penalty kicks.

Still, the run to the title game was only the second in program history, further cementing Palmer Trinity as one of the premier teams in the region.