American Heritage girls’ soccer upends Archbishop McCarthy in battle of title contenders
Often in soccer, the matchup is so even, the outcome can come down to just one kick.
Sophomore forward Sami Villaverde has been delivering in such moments all season for the American Heritage girls’ soccer team.
After the Patriots drew a foul inside the 18-yard box late in the first half against Archbishop McCarthy, Villaverde was tabbed to take a penalty kick.
She took a few steps and fired the ball perfectly into the far corner for the lone score in a 1-0 Heritage victory over McCarthy on Tuesday night in the Region 4-5A final at the Mavericks home field.
“There were definitely a lot of nerves coming to your opponent’s home field like this and them having the advantage because of that,” said Villaverde, who scored her team-best 22nd goal of the season. “But I practiced my PKs at the end of every practice and I knew that if I walked up with confidence the ball would go right through every time and that’s what I did.”
American Heritage (16-2-2) advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals for the first time since 2019 when it won the most recent of its 11 state championships all-time. The Patriots will host Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek on Friday at 7 p.m.
Despite the Patriots’ rich tradition, they had not advanced beyond the regional semifinals the past three seasons and are enjoying a bit of a renaissance this season.
Heritage entered Tuesday’s match ranked second in the state in 5A behind top-ranked McCarthy, which won a state title in 2020 and had two state runner-up finishes since Heritage last won a title.
The two teams were placed in the same classification last season, but did not play as each lost in the regional semifinal round.
McCarthy (21-2), which beat Pembroke Pines Charter twice in penalty kick shootouts over the past two weeks, was shut out for the third time in its past four games.
“I don’t know if we were pressing too hard and not letting it flow like we were at the beginning of the year,” said McCarthy coach Mike Sica, whose squad graduates 15 seniors. “Maybe we did that instead of just relaxing.”
Heritage was a slight underdog and played without longtime head coach Cindy Marcial, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from the Patriots’ regional semifinal win over Merritt Island last week.
“We were playing for her and for each other,” Villaverde said. “We play so amazing together and stepping on this field is truly a privilege.”
Not much changed though for a young Patriots’ squad, which has two seniors, and saw both Dori Johnson and Nyema Freeman make clutch stops on the back row to keep McCarthy off the scoreboard.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Miliffe recorded the shutout.
“Every game we played, we played with heart and that can carry you further,” Heritage assistant coach Braulio Garro said. “We didn’t change tonight and played 100 percent. It’s how you finish and we’re peaking at the right time.”
▪ Region 4-3A final - University School 3, Westminster Christian 1: The Sharks (14-3-3) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in school history as they continued their breakout season. Mia Herrera, Bianca Raskin and Giana Sanchez each had a goal. Taylor Smith had two assists and Sadie Zelnick had one. Avril Ramirez had nine saves.
University School had never won a regional playoff match before this season. University will travel to North Palm Beach to face Benjamin on Friday at 7 in a Class 3A state semifinal.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 11:29 PM.
