Fort Lauderdale boys’ soccer rallies twice, but falls short in Class 4A championship
A terrific postseason run that saw the team advance all the way to its first state final in program history did not quite have the storybook ending the Fort Lauderdale High School boys’ soccer team wanted on Saturday afternoon.
Hoping to bring the school its first state championship in any sport since 2004 (boys’ track), the Flying L’s showed grit and heart, fighting back twice to tie the game including a goal with 90 seconds left in regulation, before ultimately dropping a 5-3 heartbreaker in double overtime to Auburndale in the Class 4A state championship game at Spec Martin Stadium.
The scene was a difficult one for coach Mourinho Snipe, who spent the first five minutes after the final whistle sounded walking around trying to pick his distraught players up off the ground.
Those players were not only trying to win it for their school and fans, but for Snipe as well. It was last May that Snipe lost his brother Carlon in a plane crash. The team had dedicated the season to his memory.
“Losing his brother, it’s something that really drew all of us closer together all season long and we dedicated the season to coach and his brother’s memory,” said junior co-captain Steven Noguera. “It would’ve been so great to win it for him but I guess that wasn’t God’s plan today. But we’re young so hopefully we’ll be back and get another shot.”
Snipe added: “I’m very proud of those kids for the way they fought today. They dedicated the season to my brother’s memory and even though we didn’t come out on top, he would’ve been very proud of them and the effort they gave out there today as well.”
Snipe could only watch as his players struggled during most of the first half, falling behind 2-0 before scoring just before halftime on a Cali Canaval header off a corner kick to cut the deficit to 2-1.
But the L’s (21-6-1) caught a break with just under seven minutes left in regulation when Noguera was fouled inside the box. Gabriel Gonzalez drilled the ensuing penalty into the bottom left corner of the net and it was 2-2 with 6:28 left.
Less than two minutes later, the Bloodhounds (23-2-1), who won their third overall state title and first since 2007, were back in front when Noah Sims got to a loose ball in front of the net off a direct kick that barely went under Giovanni Bonilla’s arms.
But, despite there being just over four minutes left, the L’s still had plenty of fight left. With 1:32 remaining, Auburndale got called for another foul, this one just outside the box on the right side allowing Fort Lauderdale to set up a direct kick.
Noguera left footed one in front of the net that Aidan Binnion got a clean head on and popped into the net, sending the game to two 10-minute overtime periods.
“At first I was going to shoot it at the goal, but then I saw our tallest player (Binnion) in there and decided to cross it,” said Noguera. “I just went for the second post and it was there. I really thought we were going to win it at that point because we really had the momentum.”
With 4:30 left in the second OT and perhaps the L’s defense wearing down from the record heat, Dacarmel Jeannestin, a thorn in Fort Lauderdale’s side all day long, broke free down the right side creating a one-on-one with Bonilla and drilled it bottom left.
In desperation mode pushing up trying to get the equalizer for a third time, the L’s were even more vulnerable defensively, which created another one-on-one opportunity for Auburndale’s Noah Stephens who scored with 1:34 left to complete the scoring.
“It’s tough,” Snipe said. "When you get to a state final, you know very well that there is going to be a quality team on the other side of the field so it was two teams giving it everything they had. Hats off to them (Auburndale), they’re a great team too and deserved to win today.”