Columbus soccer avenges prior loss to Doral to advance to regional finals

All season long, when the Columbus boys soccer team faced a big moment and needed a big performance, forward Jorge Gonzalez-Tello was there to answer the call.

On Thursday night, there he was again.

Gonzalez-Tello assisted on one first half goal and then scored the eventual game-winner in the second as the No. 3 seeded Explorers hung on to knock off No. 2 Doral Academy 2-1 in a Region 4-7A semifinal contest at Doral.

After tying the Firebirds 1-1 in the regular season and dropping a 2-1 decision to Doral in the district semifinals, the Explorers got it right on this night and advance to only their second regional final since 2014 (when they won the program’s only state title), and first since 2021.

The task now will be a daunting one for Columbus (15-4-5), which will travel to Weston next Tuesday to take on MaxPreps’ No. 2 nationally-ranked Cypress Bay in a Region 4-7A final at 7 p.m. with a state final four berth in DeLand on the line.

When the final whistle blew, Columbus players raced to the far side of the field to celebrate with their strong contingent of fans who were decked out in white shirts and made plenty of noise all game long.

“We had a tie and a loss to them so we were determined to come in here tonight and find a way to get this done,” said Gonzalez-Tello who, after leading the team in scoring last year as a junior with 17 goals, now has 21 this season. “Tonight we worked and focused more on our crossing passes, trying to get the ball down in front of the net as much as possible and wait to see if they might make a mistake or two.”

Eleven minutes before halftime, Gonzalez-Tello took advantage of a Doral defensive mistake and made a perfect centering pass in front of the net that teammate Jayden Glasper got to and headed it past Doral keeper GianFranco Crescenzo to put the Explorers up 1-0.

Eleven minutes into the second half, the Explorers executed a perfect end-to-end odd man counterattack. When Mauricio Gonzalez rifled a perfect pass from the left side to Gonzalez-Tello who was running by himself down the right, he found himself one-on-one with Crescenzo who was coming out to meet him. Gonzalez-Tello easily beat him with a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

The goal came with 29 minutes left in regulation and gave Columbus a 2-0 lead. It was an insurance goal that came in handy.

Now in desperation mode, the Firebirds, playing their first season under new head coach Raul Soriano after long-time head coach Pam McDonald retired after last season, put on the full court press over the last 20 minutes.

Doral peppered Columbus goalkeeper Nicholas Siman with numerous quality chances, but Siman answered the call with some nice saves. Finally, with five minutes left, Siman saved what he thought was a shot off a Doral player in front of the net. But the official ruled that the shot had come off the foot of one of his teammates, thus giving the Firebirds a one-touch indirect kick from just five yards in front of the net.

Columbus players formed a wall in front of the net but when Diego Tovar one-touched it to Oscar Zambrano, Zambrano popped a high ball over the heads of the Columbus line and into the top right corner of the net.

But the Columbus back line did a nice job over the final five minutes of denying the Firebirds any kind of quality chance before the final whistle blew. The loss ended a string of five consecutive final four appearances for Doral (13-3-6) which won back-to-back state titles in 2021-22 before suffering three consecutive semifinal losses each of the past three seasons.

“Ever since Jorge came in as a freshman, you could see the soccer IQ was different and he’s been a tremendous asset to the program ever since,” said Columbus coach Kameron Clark, himself a former Columbus player who graduated in 2010. “There were a few bumps in the road along the way but what a terrific young man he’s shaped out to be and now having a crazy season.”

When asked about his next opponent, Clark would only give a wry smile as he surely understood the big challenge in front of his team.

“We know them, we know their style and understand how good they are,” Clark said. “But we’d like to think we’re pretty good as well. With this game tonight, we had to adapt to Doral’s playing style, now the next game we’ll adapt to theirs as well and hopefully find our way to state.”

MORE RESULTS

Region 4-4A semifinal - Mater Lakes 2, Belen Jesuit 1 (OT): Sebastian Cruz scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime period to lift the Bears (14-2-2) to a dramatic win over the host and top-seeded Wolverines (16-6-5) on Thursday at Belen. Mater Lakes, which was the state runner-up in Class 4A last season, will travel to Plantation on Tuesday to play American Heritage in the regional final. Sebastian Barrientos scored the lone goal for Belen.

Region 4-4A semifinal - American Heritage 3, Reagan 2: Sebastian Mayorga had two goals to help the host Patriots (15-3-1) edge the Bison (8-7-3). Thiago Chaves also had a goal while Tiago Cardoso and Clayton Boone each had one assist. Heritage is seeking its ninth state title and first since 2023.

Region 4-6A semifinal - St. Thomas Aquinas 2, South Broward 0: Rayne Archuleta had a goal and an assist to lead the Raiders (20-6) to the regional finals for the third time in four seasons. Aquinas will next host Coconut Creek Monarch on Tuesday at 7 as it tries to advance to state for the first time since 2023.

Felipe Tobon also had a goal and Frank Markovich had an assist. Jakob Hillinger recorded the shutout. South Broward finished 12-7-4.

Region 4-5A semifinal - Pembroke Pines Charter 2, Archbishop McCarthy 1: Gabriel Calderon had a goal and Emerson Toledo had an assist as the Jaguars (10-5-3) moved to within one win of clinching a return trip to the state final four. Pines Charter will host Lake Worth Dr. Joaquin Garcia on Tuesday in the regional final. McCarthy finishes 14-2-2.