The Western girls’ soccer team won its first regional in 15 years. Here’s how it happened
With neither team having won a regional playoff game in 15 years, somebody was going to have a breakthrough win when the Western and Dr. Krop girls’ soccer teams squared off in a Region 4-7A quarterfinal contest on Tuesday afternoon.
Thanks to a pair of goals from sophomore Sydney Ford, it was Western that broke through as the Wildcats popped in three first half goals and played smart defense in the second half, cruising to a 3-1 win over the Lightning at Ives Estates Park.
Hopefully the Wildcats, the No. 5 seed, enjoyed themselves following the win because their first berth in the regional semifinals since 2005 will be a daunting one. That when they travel to take on top seeded, No. 1 state-ranked and No. 4 nationally-ranked (Max Preps) Cypress Bay on Friday at 5 p.m.
A district rival, Cypress Bay beat Western by a combined 13-0 in their two meetings this past season. The Lightning cruised past Ferguson 4-0 in their semifinal.
“Just a great feeling to be moving on,” Ford said. “We’ve been working so hard this season and we knew coming in here today that this program had not been to a regional semifinal in 15 years so that was definitely our motivation to win this game. As far as our next opponent is concerned we know how good they are but that still doesn’t mean we’re going to lie down. We’ll go in there and play hard like we always do.”
After the team’s leading scorer Kaitlyn Pensebene scored in the game’s first goal in the 19th minute, Ford followed with her two goals in the 23rd and 37th minutes to put the Wildcats (13-4-1) up comfortably at the break.
The second half was rock solid shutdown defense and trying to keep possession of the ball by the Wildcats. Krop finally broke through when Kirra Magaña scored but only three minutes remained and the game was well in hand.
“We weren’t going to force anything or create anything that wasn’t there,” said Western coach Carlos Velasquez of his team’s second half strategy. “We didn’t necessarily need to score another goal and to just play smart, stay healthy and head for the bus. It’s been a series of baby steps with this program and today was another step. We understand what we have in front of us Friday as our girls know how good Cypress Bay is. We’ll have to play tactically and everybody will need to be on the same page. Who knows. It’s soccer, crazy things can happen sometimes so we’ll show up.”
MIAMI SPRINGS 6, PEMBROKE PINES SOMERSET 2
Jasmine Romay, Enma Amaya and Ashley Romay each scored a goal in the first 15 minutes as the host Golden Hawks jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and cruised the rest of the way in a Region 4-4A contest at Stafford Park.
After that it was Gabi Cimino who took over as she scored the next three goals for Springs. In doing so the FAU commit broke the all-time school record for goals in a season (previously 141) and now has 144, 42 this season.
Springs (19-2), the No. 2 seed, will host No. 3 Gulliver Prep. in a regional semifinal Friday at 7 p.m. at Stafford. Jaileen DeFreitas scored both goals for Somerset which finished 12-6-2
CORAL REEF 3, TARAVELLA 0
Tianna Rivera turned in a hat-trick performance, scoring all three of her team’s goals as the host Barracudas coasted to the Region 4-7A quarterfinal win at home.
Mia Vessepo, Kat Diaz and Sofia Lopez had assists on Rivera’s goals while goalkeeper Amanda Fernandez pitched the shutout in front of the net.
The No. 2 seed, Coral Reef (19-2-1) will host No. 6 West Broward in a regional semifinal Friday at 4 p.m. at Tropical Park.
PEMBROKE PINES CHARTER 2, TERRA ENVIRONMENTAL 1
Alexa Robles and Alai Araujo each scored a goal for PC with Araujo scoring the game-winner as the Jaguars improved to 14-3-2.
OTHER SCORES
Region 4-7A: West Broward 4, Coral Gables 1; Region 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas 5, South Broward 0; Cooper City 9, Nova 1; Region 4-5A: Archbishop McCarthy 8, Sebring 0; Region 4-4A: Cardinal Gibbons 5, St. Brendan 0; Plantation American Heritage 2, North Broward Prep. 0; Gulliver Prep. 2, Mater Lakes 1; Region 4-3A: Carrollton 2, LaSalle 0; Palmer Trinity 2, University School 0; Miami Country Day 2, Westminster Christian 1; Region 4-2A: South Florida HEAT 4, Archimedean 0; Lake Worth Christian 8, Doral Divine Savior 0.
BOYS’ SOCCER
Wednesday matches — Region 3 Quarterfinals — 7A: Monarch at Boca Raton, 7:30; Spanish River at Coral Glades, 6; Region 4 Quarterfinals — 7A: Varela at Reagan, 2; Columbus at Coral Reef, 3:30; Palmetto at Coral Gables, 4; Krop at Cypress Bay, 5; 6A: Mater Academy at Doral Academy, 7; Miami Beach at Boca Raton Olympic Heights, 7; Homestead at St. Thomas Aquinas, 7; Fort Lauderdale at South Broward, 7; 5A: Southridge vs. TERRA, 3:30, (Indian Hammocks Park); Pembroke Pines Charter at Eau Gallie, 7; Belen Jesuit vs. Mourning, 5:30, (Ives Estates Park); 4A: Key West at North Broward Prep, 6; Cardinal Gibbons at Mater Lakes, 7; MAST Academy at Plantation American Heritage, 7; St. Brendan at Gulliver Prep, 3; 3A: SLAM Academy at University School, 7; Ransom Everglades at Keys Gate Charter, 4; Westminster Christian at LaSalle, 7; Palmer Trinity at Miami Country Day, 7; 2A: Doral Divine Savior at WPB Berean Christian, 3; Avante Garde Academy at Riviera Prep, 7; Miami Christian at Scheck Hillel, 7; Katz Yeshiva at Westminster Academy, 7.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 10:01 PM.