Lourdes girls’ soccer team gets early goal, holds on to advance to state championship game
Lourdes goalkeeper Amanda Puig made no bones about it when it was over.
“Those last five minutes were the longest five minutes of my life,” she said with a smile.
And there indeed were a lot of smiles to go around from all the Lourdes players on Friday night. That’s because they made a goal in the 13th minute of the game stand up the rest of the way and hung on to edge Lithia Newsome 1-0 in a Class 5A state semifinal game at Melbourne High School.
And with that, the Bobcats (23-2) launched themselves into a state title game for the second time in school history and will take on Oviedo — which topped Vero Beach 2-0 in an earlier semifinal — in the 5A title game Saturday at noon.
That will be the very same Oviedo team that Lourdes lost a heartbreaking overtime penalty kick shootout to three years ago on the very same field in its only other state title game appearance.
“This is what the girls have worked so hard for and what they’ve dreamed about and now they have that opportunity in front of them tomorrow,” said Lourdes head coach Ramiro Vengoechea. “They’ve worked really hard to get to this point. Oviedo is a very good team so we’ll just give our best shot.”
A shot they’re going to get because they were able to stave off a furious Newsome attack in the game’s final 10 minutes. Trailing 1-0, the Wolves (19-3-2) enjoyed a distinct wind advantage in the second one, one that the Bobcats had in the first, and it showed.
Led by University of Central Florida commit Lindsey Eaton, Newsome spent most of the final 40 minutes on Lourdes’ side of the field peppering their defense and Puig furiously over the final 10 minutes.
But, thanks to some lockdown defense and a great job of clearing balls out, Newsome never was able to land the equalizer. The Wolves actually thought they had just two minutes into the second half when Lauren Evans took an indirect kick from 25 yards out that found the back of the net. But the goal was disallowed because indirect kicks need to touch another player first and never made contact with anyone else.
“They definitely were putting a lot of heat on us and we expected it,” said Lourdes sweeper Victoria Maseda. “It was just a matter of getting to balls first, getting a foot on it, a head on it, whatever it took and just find some way to clear them out. I was just staring at that clock and it seemed like forever to get to those zeroes.”
“It was scary but I was confident in my teammates that they would be able to protect the net and they did a great job of that,” said Puig. “I knew the second half would be tough because the wind was really strong and I had to hit everything wide on my goal kicks and not down the middle.”
The Bobcats gave Puig the only goal she would need in the game’s 13th minute when Newsome goalkeeper Madison Rowe had trouble handling a loose ball in front of the net off a shot by Natalie Silberman. Victoria Munoz then reached out with her right foot and just barely managed to tap it toward the empty net.
“After Natalie took the shot, I saw the ball was wobbling between the goalie’s legs,” said Munoz. “When I saw it come out, I just reached out as far as I could to try and get a foot on it and got just enough of the ball to tap it in.”
Lourdes nearly got what would’ve been a huge insurance goal 16 minutes before halftime when Silberman let go of a wind-aided rocket shot from 30 yards out that hit straight off the crossbar and back out into play before being cleared out.
“The wind was a major factor and you could see the shift in momentum in the second half,” said Vengoechea. “I tried to solidify the midfield a little more by going to two holding mids (midfielders) and just trying to be a little more compact and secure the middle of the field a little more. We understood we were going to be under a wave of pressure and number seven (Eaton) was a nightmare for us all night. She’s a phenomenal talent and any other night she could’ve had one but tonight was our night.”
BOYS’ DISTRICT BASKETBALL
▪ 14-8A championship — Miami High 56, Dr. Krop 49
The Stingarees bounced back from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat host Dr. Krop for the third time this season -- this time for the district championship.
Led by Marlon Sierra, who scored 16 points with 17 rebounds, Miami High stormed back and took the lead back by the end of the third quarter at 41-40.
Dr. Krop took a four-point lead early in the fourth, but the Stingarees went to a full-court press and began forcing turnovers and disrupted Krop’s offense. By the three minute mark, the Stings had a comfortable lead.
Miami High (15-7) will play to host the loser of the Miramar/Flanagan game on Thursday in the regional quarterfinals.
DrK: Jeanty 10, Araceca 3, James 3, O’Connor 7, Clark 16, Barber 6, Souza 5. MHS (15-7): Mera 16, Reyes 2, Sierra 16, Arce 6, Jean-Jacques 10, Suarez 1, Shannon 5. Half: DrK 32-25. 3-pointers: Mera, Shannon, Aracena, James, O’Connor, Clark 2, Souza. Reb: Sierra 17. Ast: Jean-Jacques 6. Stl: Mera 5. Blk: Sierra 3.
▪ 12-3A championship — Westminster Academy 68, Sagemont 58
Sage: Verbanski 11, Percado 4, Stuart 14, Holly 13, Frazier 4, Popovich 9, Sove 3. WA (21-6): Scott 14, Butler 19, Atkinson 13, Johnson 16, Santos 6. Half: Sage 27-25. 3-pointers: Butler, Johnson 4, Stuart 4, Verbanski 2, Sove. Reb: Atkinson 14. Stl: Butler 4.
▪ 16-7A championship — Mater 59, Barbara Goleman 23
Mat (23-4): Quintana 2, Mejia 15, Diaz 8, Frye 3, Stern 10, Monsanto 9, Duquesne 11. Gole: Lopez 5, Olayon 2, Rocco 4, Perez 2, Rodriguez 2, Guido 8. Half: Mat 36-6. Reb: Stern 11. Ast: Quintana 5. Stl: Diaz 3. Blk: Stern 4. 3-pointers: Lopez. Frye, Mejia 2, Monsanto 3.
▪ District 16-8A district championship — Coral Reef 54, Homestead 49
CR: Byran 13, Vreones 12, Holcombe 12, Ruiz 7, Boria 5. Home: Outten 17, La'Count 8, B.Collier 8, Virgil 4, J.Collier 11, Dixon 1. Reb: Byran, Holcombe 6. Ast: Ruiz 3. Blk: Holcombe 2. Stl: Byran 4.
▪ 16-4A semifinal – Westminster Christian 75, Keys Gate 59
KG: Butler 3, Sedler 13, Stenger 22, Carter 1, Hicks 5, Mumford 15. WC (18-7): Brown 30, Raine 13, Paicely 9, Hernandez 3, Wright 4, Avery 4, Halfaker 8, Square 4. Half: WC 37-24. 3-Pointers: Sedler 2, Mumford, Halfaker 3. Reb: Paicely, Raine 5. Ast: Paicely 7. Stl: Avery 3.
▪ 15-4A championship — Booker T. Washington 53, Mater Lakes 52
BTW: Dixon 16, Higgins 14, Burnett 13, Morris 10. ML: Largie 15, Moralez 26, Rodriguez 2, Alvarez 8. 3-pointers: Burnett 3, Dixon 2, Alvarez 2, Moralez 2. Reb: Higgins 13. Stl: Morris 5. Ast: Dixon 4. Half: ML 26-18.
▪ 15-2A championship — Westwood Christian 54, Schoolhouse 50
WC: Osceola 14, Mejias 5, Guitian 4, Molina 7, Monell 17, Ametepe 12. 3-pointers: Monell 5, Mejias, Osceola, Molina 2. Reb: Ametepe, Guitian 10. Ast: Monell 6. Stl: Monell 4. Blk: Guitian 2.
BASEBALL
▪ University School 4, Nova 1
WP: Jack Schmidt (1-0). Top performers: Schmidt’s 3-run double wins game for Sharks (1-0).
SOFTBALL
▪ University School 16, Somerset-Pines 1
WP: Annika Jacobs (1-0). Top performers: Emily Johnson grand slam; Jacobs 3 RBI. Univ 1-0, Som 0-1.
▪ Miami Springs 15, Norland 0
WP: Mallory Mitnick (1-0). Top performers: Mitnick 3ip, 7k; Nicole Borroto grand slam; Brianna Gomez HR, 2 RS; Emily Santos 2 RS. MS 1-0, Nor 0-1.
▪ South Dade 8, American 3
WP: Tatum Rodriguez (1-0); LP: A. Alfonso (0-1). Top performers: Kara Atkins 1-2, 2 RS, 4 RBI; Tammy Altamirano 2-4, 2 RBI; Miumi Atkins 2-4, RBI. SD 1-0, Amer 0-1.
▪ Other scores: Cardinal Gibbons 20, Coconut Creek 10.
BOYS’ TENNIS
▪ Jackson 4, Terra 3 — No. 1 singles: Marquiese Johnson 8-0; 2: Alexis Torres 8-4; 3: Moise Bertrand 8-2; 1 doubles: Johnson/Torres 8-0. Jax 1-0.
▪ Miami Beach 4, Coral Reef 3 – No. 1 singles: Quinn McLeod 6-3, 7-6; 2: 3: Nicolas Barone 6-1, 6-7, 10-4; 4: Luca McLeod 6-2, 6-4; 2 doubles: Barone/Justin Wald 6-7, 6-3, 11-9. MB 1-1, CR 1-1.
▪ Gulliver 4, Belen 3 – No. 2 singles: Nico Ramirez 8-6; 3: Christian Otero 8-4; 5: Billy Earle 8-4. Gul 2-0.
GIRLS’ TENNIS
▪ MAST 4, LaSalle 1 – No. 1 singles: Mencia Sanchez 8-3; 2: Anabella Camacaro 8-4; 3: Isabella Camacaro 8-4; 5: Lucia Ors 8-5. MAST 1-0.
▪ Westminstrer Christian 5, Miami Country Day 2 – No. 1 singles: Cassandra Restrepo 8-6; 2: Sara Fernandez 8-1; 3: Taylor Huffman 8-0; No. 1 doubles: Fernandez/Huffman 8-2.
Coral Reef 7, Miami Beach 0 – No. 1 singles: Laura Navia 6 -1, 6-1; 2: Alexandria Hitt 6-1, 6-0; 3: Cathy Xin 6-0, 6-0; 4: Bruna Decerega 6-0, 6 -0; 5: Claudia Jacobo 6-1, 6-1.CR 1-1.
BOYS’ WATER POLO
▪ Mourning 12, Miami Country Day 9: Anthony Kaminsky 6 goals; Kyhel Vigille 3 goals; Daniel Scotese 2 goals.
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Lourdes girls’ soccer team gets early goal, holds on to advance to state championship game."