Gulliver star has one more soccer season before he becomes a Duke football player

Soccer’s loss is football’s gain.

Gulliver Prep senior midfielder Cosme Salas, who was The Herald’s Class 4A-2A Player of the Year in 2022-2023, is hanging up his soccer shoes after this season.

Salas, a 5-7, 160-pound senior midfielder, had 14 goals and 10 assists last season, leading Gulliver Prep to the Class 4A state championship. In fact, he had two goals in Gulliver’s 3-2 win over Orlando Bishop Moore in the title game. He also had all three goals in Gulliver’s 3-0 regional-finals win over Cardinal Gibbons.

But – after this one last season – Salas will trade soccer for football as he has accepted a scholarship offer to join the Duke University team as a kicker.

“It’s very sad,” said Salas, who has played soccer on Gulliver’s varsity since he was in the seventh grade. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was two years old. My best friendships have been made in soccer. My best memories are in soccer.”

Salas said he will not be allowed to even play intramural soccer at Duke, where football is a 12-month commitment.

Still, you can be sure Salas will pack a soccer ball or two when he heads to Durham, North Carolina.

“Soccer will never leave me,” said Salas, who has a 4.0 grade-point average this quarter and is interested in studying Business or Economics at Duke. “I will still juggle a soccer ball in my dorm.”

Salas said he went to a Duke kicking camp in June, and he did so well that he got his scholarship offer several weeks later. Duke surely studied his numbers, which include 14-for-20 on field goals since he earned the Gulliver kicking job as a junior. Salas has also never missed an extra point.

But, before he gets to Duke, Salas has one more soccer season with the Gulliver Raiders, who have eight state titles – more than any other team from Miami.

The Raiders return eight starters and five key reserves from last season. Besides Salas, the Raiders’ stars include forward Tomas Sciarra; midfielders Daniel Ortiz and Rodrigo Navarro; and defenders Henrique Ortega and Joaquin Beker Flah.

Most of those players have known each other since grade school, and Salas said it’s urgent they go out on top.

“We’ve had a talk,” Salas said of his teammates. “It’s not: ‘We want to win.’ It’s: We need to win.’”

Gulliver coach Scott Davidson, who was an assistant when the Raiders won their first state title in 1991, is set to begin his third season running the program.

Davidson said he has scheduled tough this season – including a holiday trip to California – to showcase stars such as Salas.

“Cosme is an incredible all-around player,” Davidson said. “The bigger the stage, the better he plays.

“He’s our hardest worker and our best in a technical and tactical sense. He’s in such good shape that he never has to come out.

“Overall, he has the best vision and the quickest mind. It’s a weird combination I’ve never seen in one person.”

SEASON OUTLOOKS

▪ Plantation American Heritage (19-1-2) defeated Naples, 3-1, to win the Class 5A state final. It was the Patriots’ eighth state title and their first since 2019. Juan Otero, who scored all three Patriots goals in the state final, was one of 14 seniors on last season’s team.

▪ Davie University School (19-2-1) lost to Winter Park Trinity Prep in the Class 3A final. The game was scoreless and then decided by penalty kicks, 5-3. Trinity goalie Shane Wright, a UCF recruit, had the winning kick.

▪ Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (15-6-6) was beaten in the Class 6A state semifinals. The Raiders then lost 23 players from that team, including seven starters. The top players this season are seniors Daniel Abarca, Juan Cassina Alarcon and Lucas Del Aguila.

▪ Miami Ransom Everglades (11-6-4) reached the regional semifinals. New coach Sam Steele now takes over the Raiders, who will be led by senior goalie Martin Piedrahita, who made first-team All-Dade. Senior Noa Abboud returns after scoring 13 goals.

▪ Miami Belen (9-3-9), which advanced to the regional quarterfinals, will be led by senior Dimas MacKinlay. He had eight shutouts last season. Senior defender Andres Bertorelli is another player to watch.

▪ Miami Westminster Christian (13-4-3) lost in the regional quarterfinals and then graduated several seniors, especially on defense. The Warriors return senior forward Franco Scopazzo (17 goals, four assists). Senior midfielders Oscar Paz and Caue Goncalves are also back.

▪ Miami Columbus (12-7-4) won the district title before losing in the regional quarterfinals. The Explorers, who need to finish better, will be led by senior midfielders Javier Voigt and Gabriel Leon and junior midfielder Tomas Calonge.

▪ Pembroke Pines West Broward went 5-11-1 last season. The Bobcats’ strengths include agility and endurance.

▪ Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy (12-5) will be led by junior Sebastian Fernandez and senior Ethan Miller.

▪ Coconut Creek North Broward Prep (10-11-2) will be led by senior goalkeeper Zachary Brown and senior midfielder Elejandro Ramirez.

This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 6:00 AM.