Aquinas girls’ soccer team turns tables on Lourdes to win region title; Heritage advances
After having to watch the Lourdes girls’ soccer team celebrate at their expense three of the last four years, the St. Thomas Aquinas girls finally got to see how the other side lives.
Thanks to a pair of second half goals and stout defense, the Raiders pulled off a big 3-1 upset victory over Lourdes Academy in a Region 4-6A final on Wednesday night at Columbus High School.
The win exacted a measure of revenge for St. Thomas over the Bobcats, who had beaten the Raiders three of the last four years in the regional finals.
The Raiders, who used to make trips to the state final four like it was a birthright, will make their first trip since 2017, when they won a state-record 15th title, and fifth in a seven-year span. But they will once again play the role of underdog. Aquinas will be the No. 4 seed and take on No. 1 seed Ponte Vedra, the No. 1 team in the state regardless of classification, in a 6A state semifinal on Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
“There was a story that came out on Max Preps during the week about how Lourdes had ended our season over these last few years and would St. Thomas finally be able to get over the hump and I think that kind of fired our girls up,” Aquinas coach Kim Faulkner said. “This group was really pumped up tonight, absolutely focused and ready to go from the opening whistle. We’ve been trending in the right direction late in the season and are peaking at the right time.”
Faulkner watched her team take a 1-0 lead just before the first half water break when Madison Poleo scored off an assist from Sophie Barnes. But the Bobcats (16-3-1), who have had to frustratingly settle for state runner-up finishes in each of the last three seasons, had a quick answer Sienna Aviles scored five minutes later for the equalizer and the game went to the half in a 1-1 tie.
Early in the second half, the Raiders took the lead for good when freshman Marissa Arellano scored off an assist from Genesis Hernandez. It appeared that that lead would be short-lived as well because just four minutes later, St. Thomas keeper Camryn McEwen was faced with a one-on-one Lourdes breakaway and made an outstanding save to keep her team up by one.
“That was a huge moment,” Faulkner said. “A big-time save by Camryn. If they (Lourdes) tie the game right back up, who knows where it goes from there.”
The St. Thomas defense was a wall from that point on and when Barnes scored off a counter-attack with 15 minutes left to give the Raiders a valuable insurance goal, it was only a matter of time before the postgame celebration started.
“We knew we were coming in as the underdog and that article really got us fired up,” said Hernandez, the senior captain. “It was just a matter of ignoring all of the outside noise and just focus on what we knew we could do as a team. Tonight felt like a huge relief for me and the rest of the seniors because this would’ve been our last game if we hadn’t won and we didn’t want to go out with another loss to Lourdes.”
▪ Region 4-5A final - American Heritage 1, Pembroke Pines Charter 0: Sophomore Allison Aleman delivered the game-winning goal off an assist from Zahira Freeman to propel the Patriots (14-3-1) back to the state final four. Heritage will host Winter Garden Horizon next week on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand as it chases its 13th state championship.
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 12:57 AM.