Soccer synchronicity: Led by the Sosa twins, Ransom Everglades boys vying for a state title
They sometimes finish each other’s sentences. Sometimes, they’ll randomly start singing the same song at the same time.
Twin brothers Christian and Nicholas Sosa have that same synchronicity on the soccer field where they have been making spectacular plays together to lead their teams to victory since they were both 3 years old.
“There’s been so many times where I accidentally say the same thing he says, and people are like ‘Twins!’” Nicholas Sosa said. “It’s just a different type of chemistry (on the field). It may seem corny, but the twin connection is there and we use it to our benefit for the team.”
The junior defenders for the Ransom Everglades boys’ soccer team did it again on Wednesday night to help the Raiders move a step closer to their goal of winning a state championship.
After Nicholas Sosa scored twice in the first 20 minutes, the Raiders found themselves in a familiar spot against rival Westminster Christian.
But unlike last season when the visiting Warriors rallied with three goals to send Ransom home from the playoffs early, the Raiders never let up and completed a convincing 4-0 victory on their home field in a Region 4-3A quarterfinal.
“The two of them have been key and they play on the same side — left wing back,” Ransom Everglades coach David Villano said. “They understand the game and complement each other very well.”
The Raiders (15-1-3), the top seed in the region, will host Boca Raton St. Andrew’s on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the regional semifinals. Ransom defeated the Scots 2-1 on Dec. 8 in a regular season match.
Christian Sosa added a third goal in the 58th minute and senior forward Felipe De Cardenas added a fourth off an assist from Nicholas Sosa.
All three players remembered the pain of last season’s deflating 3-2 loss in the regional semifinals, which ended a season of high expectations for the Raiders.
“Both captains stepped up and were very motivational and we feel like we were stronger because we had been in that situation before,” Christian Sosa said.
Nicholas added: “Being in the situation we were in last year, it made us a more connected team. We used the pain from last year as a motivator.”
Ransom, which graduated only five players from last season’s squad, might have all the ingredients it needs to secure what would be the school’s second state title and first since 2016.
In addition to the Sosas, the Raiders have plenty of skilled players who can create offense. Junior forward Kobe Lopez leads the team with eight goals and senior midfielder Dillan Kaye has a team-high seven assists.
“(Last year’s loss) left a shadow over the whole season. The guys kept saying we have to play 90 minutes,” Villano said. “The big challenge for us was not just playing good soccer on the field, but more importantly the intangible qualities like the mentality of how to handle the pressure.”
Like most young soccer players, the two admire Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. But Christian said he’s tried to pattern his game and leadership qualities after Spanish soccer star Sergio Ramos while Nicholas grew up a fan of Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies.
The Sosa twins played together in the Pinecrest area with their older sister, Isabella, who played soccer at Ransom as well. They went on to play for Pinecrest Premier on the club level at age-12, and later at Ransom, they developed their respective games from Raiders JV coach Sam Steele.
Since then, the two have made plays they call “effortless” thanks to the chemistry they have on the field.
“We had a play last week where we moved the ball together around four defenders and made it look easy and it led to a goal,” Christian Sosa said. “We just have this connection and we feel like this is our year.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 8:56 AM.
