After a two-year drought, American Heritage girls’ soccer back in state championship
After a scoreless first half with few scoring opportunities for the Plantation American Heritage girls’ soccer team, Emily Thompson took her chance.
The freshman received a pass near the middle of the field and had a pair of defenders in front of her. She meticulously slashed her way between the duo and baited Tampa Largo’s keeper to move to the front of the box.
It gave Thompson just enough room to place a perfectly struck ball into the lower left portion of the net six minutes into the second half and start Heritage’s second-half outburst.
What appeared to be the making of a competitive Class 3A state semifinal quickly turned into a 3-0 rout for the Patriots over Largo. Now, after a two-year drought, Plantation American Heritage is back in the state championship game and has the chance to claim its 11th state title when it plays Gulf Breeze on Friday at 7 p.m. in DeLand.
“We were a little unlucky in the first half and I told them at halftime that we didn’t want to go into PKs. We wanted to make sure that we took care of it and that’s what we did,” Patriots coach Cindy Marcial said.
Senior Taylor Dobles and junior Gabby Scarlette scored Heritage’s other two goals. Dobles struck in the 55th minute when a mistimed corner kick ricocheted in her direction and she tapped it past the keeper. Scarlette closed it out 10 minutes later after a pair of her teammates’ shots were blocked inside the box.
▪ Class 5A semifinal - Cypress Bay 2, Vero Beach 0: For the first time since the school opened in 2002, the Cypress Bay girls’ soccer team will play for a state championship.
The Lightning advanced to the Class 5A title match following their 2-0 victory over Vero Beach on Friday at Cypress Bay High.
Sophomore forward Megan Morgan tallied a goal in each half.
Cypress Bay (19-0-1) will face the Lake May/Palm Harbor University winner for the state title next Friday at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium in Deland at 4 p.m.
The Lightning, ranked No. 15 in the country by Winter FAB 50 National Rankings, now has an opportunity to become the second public school in Broward County history to finish a season with a championship and without a loss.
Douglas is currently the lone public school to hold that distinction after winning a state championship in 2003 while finishing 28-0-1.
Morgan gave her team the early lead with a goal in the seventh minute on an assist from assist from Fabiola Menendez.
“It was a huge hump getting past Lourdes and at this point we had nothing to lose,” said Cypress Bay coach Kate Dwyer. “There girls worked so hard and Megan stepped up game after game. It’s such a great group of girls to get us through this.”
-Dave Brousseau
BOYS’ TENNIS
▪ Coral Reef 7, Varela 0: Thomas Barraque 8-4, John Dotson 8-5, Noe Bonnefoy 8-5, Michael Chamizo 8-4, Alex Aronson 8-5; Barraque/Bonnefoy 8-3, Tyler Benjamin/Dotson 8-1
GIRLS’ TENNIS
▪ Coral Reef 7, Varela 0: Jessica Bustamante 8-0, Claudia Jacobo 8-1, Angelica Tacoronte 8-0, Franchesca Casanova 8-0, Alexa Cruz 8-1; Bustamante/Emily Lara 8-1, Nicole Moll/Marianna Ghini 8-1
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