Downtown Doral boys’ soccer moves to within one win of first state title in third season
A slew of programs spent decades trying to reach a state championship game, but Downtown Doral did it in just three years.
Third-ranked Downtown Doral took down second-ranked Tallahassee Maclay, 4-2, in a Class 3A state semifinal boys soccer game Wednesday at Lake Myrtle Soccer Complex to reach its first state championship game in program history.
That history spans just three seasons.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and dedication,” said Downtown Doral junior Nicolas Sulbaran, who scored two goals. “We are all family. We are a small school with big passion.”
With the win, Downtown Doral will square off against Tampa Prep for the FHSAA 3A state championship Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We worked hard for almost two years,” Downtown Doral assistant head coach Inaki Barroso said. “This is the third year of the program and the second year of the staff. We just worked hard with these passionate kids, who love what they do. It’s easy to work with them.
“We don’t care about people or rankings. We work for us and that is what we do. This is the top of the climb. We worked for this, and we got it. We are just happy to be in the last game of the year.”
Maclay shot right out of the gate against Downtown Doral and seized a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game on a goal by Zac Scovotto, but it didn’t last long.
Downtown Doral knotted the game 1-1 on a 30-yard free kick by Santiago Ramos at the 34:56 mark.
“It was an amazing goal and the first step to the comeback,” Ramos said. “It was my longest free kick of the year.”
Doral took the lead at the 35:04 mark of the second half on a goal by Ande De Jesus to go up 2-1. Three minutes later, Sulbaran pushed the lead to 3-1 on the first of his two goals.
“I got a good chance against the keeper, and I just put it in the back of the net,” Sulbaran said. “
Maclay narrowed the gap to 3-2 on a goal by Barnes Ray, but Sulbaran iced the game with his second score with just 12:14 left to go up 4-2. It was the play of the game.
Sandwiched between two Maclay defenders, Sulbaran was knocked to the turf in front of the net but managed to spring to his feet just in time to field the loose ball drifting his way, which he immediately drilled home to seal the win.
“It was a very intense moment,” Sulbaran said. “I didn’t think I would make it through the gap (between defenders), but as soon as I got through, I was down. I got tripped. I got pushed by two players. I saw the ball, got the rebound and scored. It was just reflexes, I guess.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 8:35 PM.