Peaking Reagan boys soccer team buries South Broward 4-0 in regional quarterfinal
Plodding their way through a relatively mediocre regular season matters very little to the Ronald Reagan boys’ soccer team now.
Following Wednesday night’s impressive 4-0 shutout of South Broward in a Region 4-4A quarterfinal matchup at Milander Stadium, the Bison now find themselves advancing to the regional semifinals for only the second time in program history.
Despite being the No. 4 seed in their own district last week, Reagan stunned top-seeded Doral (1-0) in the semifinals to end the Firebirds’ season and followed that up with an even more impressive 2-1 win over second-seeded Belen Jesuit in the district final.
And just like that, a team that was 12-6-2 in the regular season, including a combined 1-2-1 mark against Belen and Doral, finds itself one win away from making history with a first-ever regional final appearance.
But the hurdle will be a big one as Reagan will have to deal with a loaded St. Thomas Aquinas squad in a Region 4-4A semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Milander Stadium. The Raiders easily defeated Belen 4-0 in the opposite semifinal.
“We’ve definitely peaked at the right time, we really have,” said first year Reagan head coach David Bailie. “We’ve been building up all during the course of the season to be playing like this and now the kids are seeing the results of it coming together.”
After the first 26 minutes of the game was spent devoid of quality scoring chances, Regan, led by senior captain Kerry Sarmiento, exploded with a three-goal flurry over the final 14 minutes of the first half.
Sarmiento, who had game-winning goals in both the Doral and Belen district games, popped two goals in within two minutes of each other to put his team up 2-0 before Andres Gonzalez scored 3:42 before halftime to make it a three-goal deficit as shoulders from the South Broward kids slumped in dejection.
The second half was a matter of just waiting for the final whistle. A Cesar Astudillo goal off a corner kick from Gonzalez with three minutes left was the only other score.
The loss also avenged a painful 2-1 loss to the very same team in the same round a year ago. Painful because the scuttle was that Reagan was “loaded” and had a legitimate shot at making it all the way to state.
“I couldn’t even sleep last night I was so anxious to get on the field tonight,” said Sarmiento. “We were loaded last year and they took us out in this round and we never forgot that. We got caught in a situation where everyone wanted to play individually but this year what we’re finding out is that when you play as a team and everybody is unselfishly working together as a unit, you get great results on the field and that’s what happening right now.”
Said Bailie: “Having to beat team’s like Doral and Belen, this isa really tough district so for a public school like this, it’s a heck of an accomplishment to make it to this point. Now we’re looking forward to another major challenge in St. Thomas on Saturday.”
More boys soccer regional quarterfinals
Region 4-5A: Cypress Bay 6, Flanagan 0 - Seniors Ibrahim Baajour, Eric Reyes and Alejandro Mastella each recorded two goals and junior goalkeeper Ryan Martinez played a perfect game in the net to advance the Lightning (17-3-1) to the regional semifinals. Cypress Bay will face the winner of Thursday’s game between Western and Krop.
Region 4-5A: Varela 2, Coral Gables 0
Region 4-5A: Coral Reef 2, Columbus 1
Region 4-4A: Fort Lauderdale 2, Forest Hill 1
Region 4-3A: Pembroke Pines Charter 2, Goleman 0
Region 4-3A: Plantation American Heritage 4, Mourning 0 - Senior Ryan McGowan scored two goals, while senior Sebastian Vidarte and junior Fernando Chamorro added scores of their own.
Region 4-2A: University School 3, Delray American Heritage 1: Liam Borbely scored 2 goals and Sebastian “Nino” Smith tacked on a goal and an assist.
Region 4-2A: LaSalle 1, Westminster Christian 0 - Senior Felipe Mairhofer’s second-half goal was enough for LaSalle to advance. Junior Mateo Munizaga recorded the assist.
Region 3-1A: Highland Christian 1, Berean Christian 0
Region 4-1A: SLAM 1, Riviera Prep 0
Region 4-1A: Palmer Trinity 2, International Studies 1 - Nicolas Rey and Luis Sosa each scored goals as Palmer Trinity advanced and continued its attempt to repeat as Class 1A champions.
Region 4-1A: Miami Country Day 6, Sagemont 1
Region 4-1A: Scheck Hillel 2, Westminster Academy 1
Girls soccer regional semifinal schedule
Region 3-5A: Boca Raton at Stoneman Douglas, Friday, 7 p.m.
Region 4-5A: Cypress Bay at Cooper City, Friday, 7 p.m.; Lourdes vs. Coral Reef at Tropical Park, Friday, 7 p.m.
Region 4-4A: St. Thomas Aquinas at Archbishop McCarthy, Friday, 7 p.m.
Region 4-3A: Pembroke Pines Charter at Plantation American Heritage, Friday, 7 p.m.
Region 4-2A: LaSalle at Carrollton, Friday, 3:45 p.m.; Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy at Cardinal Gibbons, Friday, 7 p.m.
Region 4-1A: Archimedean at Palmer Trinity, Friday, 3:30 p.m.; Westminster Academy at Miami Country Day, Friday, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
▪ District 15-5A semifinal: Gulliver Prep 77, LaSalle 18 - GP: Kaplan 24; Ka. Sanders 23; Haymore 11; Doctor 10; Kr. Sanders 4; Berman 3; Joseph 2; GP: 19-6
▪ District 7-4A semifinal: Florida Christian 44, Riviera Prep 30 - FCS: Marrero 16, Ledon 9, Milton 8, Diaz 5, Delgado 4, Hernandez 2.