True North Academy girls’ soccer rallies to reach program’s first state semifinal
True North goalkeeper Gabriela Scott held the regional championship trophy to her ear, pretending it was a phone, as her teammates huddled around her.
They quieted down and leaned in to hear what she had to say.
“Wait, you have something important to tell me?” Scott asked.
This was followed by a loud scream: “We’re going to state!”
The Titans girls’ soccer team then erupted into cheers, celebrating just moments after finishing off a 4-2 victory over Fort Lauderdale South Florida HEAT in the Region 4-2A final at Tequesta Trace Park in Weston.
True North, which is in its fourth year as a school, saw another sport accomplish a first as the Titans clinched their first ever berth in the state semifinals.
The Titans (14-3) will now travel to Orange Park to play powerhouse St. Johns Country Day, winners of a state-record 11 consecutive state titles, in the Class 2A state semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m.
“It’s been a great season,” True North coach Hugo Fernandez said. “We started a little shaky in the beginning but they’ve shown they can handle any situation.”
After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the Titans tied the match on the first of two goals by sophomore Sophia Vega. True North then blitzed South Florida HEAT after halftime with three goals in a span of less than 10 minutes to take control of the match.
“This is a feeling not many people get to feel,” Vega said. “We had to try not to overthink things when we were losing. We knew we just had to all pick each other up.”
Vega gave True North the lead in the first two minutes of the second half.
Sophomore Cassidy Fabian followed with back-to-back goals within three minutes of each other.
The Titans gave up what would be an inconsequential goal with three minutes left in the match, but limited South Florida HEAT’s scoring chances throughout the final 30 minutes.
True North has now won seven of its past eight matches since the postseason began. The Titans put the streak together despite losing junior forward Jenny Pena, who transferred to Doral Academy just before districts.
“I think more than anything we wanted to prove that we were more than one person and that collectively we could win these games,” Fabian said.
