Pines Charter girls soccer prevails in another classic vs. Archbishop McCarthy
One thing has been clear this decade.
Whenever Pembroke Pines Charter and Archbishop McCarthy play each other in girls’ soccer, they’re likely to deliver a classic.
Such was the case once again between the Broward County rivals on Wednesday night on the teal home field of Archbishop McCarthy as it and Pines Charter dueled once again to penalty kicks.
In the end, it was two saves by Pines Charter goalkeeper Madison Casanova and a match-winning conversion by senior Catalina Castro, which ensured that the Jaguars topped the host Mavericks in a Region 4-5A semifinal.
The Jaguars (14-2-2) advanced to the regional finals where they will play Miami Lourdes Academy, a 3-0 winner over Stuart South Fork, on Tuesday at 7 at Miami Dade College’s Kendall campus.
“It’s always 1-1 or 2-2, 0-0, and it feels like it has to go to PKs (when we play),” Pines Charter coach Lukas Lemmers said. “I just kept telling the girls, ‘You’re fine, just keep playing to the whistle.’”
Just how close has the series between McCarthy (16-3-2) and Pines Charter been?
Since moving into the same district for the 2019-2020 season, the two sides have faced each other 14 times. Every season, the first meeting has been to decide the district championship and the second has come in the regional semifinals.
Nine of those games were decided in penalty kick shootouts with at least one matchup going to PKs in each of those seven seasons. Three more of those encounters have been decided by one goal.
McCarthy leads the head-to-head series, 8-6, but Pines Charter has won four of the past six matchups, and all of them in penalty kicks including their district championship on Jan. 22.
“It’s always the same, and it’s my favorite game every season,” Casanova said. “We always prepare to play them. I’m just proud of my girls the way they played out there.”
Casanova and her teammates showed resilience throughout the evening even at three different points in the match that could have been deflating.
In the penalty kick round, Casanova saved the first shot she faced from McCarthy’s Gianna Vazquez. But Casanova then missed her own shot off the post. After the teams traded scores to make it 2-2, Casanova stepped up again and saved another shot from sophomore Rylee Ginther. It was enough for the Jaguars to ice the game on converted kicks by Amariah Ayum and Castro.
“Since we played them in district finals, I kinda had an idea where they might go with (their shots),” Casanova said. “But I watch everything, eyes, body language to get an idea. Once it went to PKs, I told my teammates, we’re going to win this, this is my thing. Even though I missed my shot, I knew I could save two. I knew I could make up for it.”
While the shootout had more drama than most games, the 100 combined minutes of regulation and overtime didn’t disappoint either.
After McCarthy struck first in the final minute of the first half on the first of two goals by sophomore Emily Acosta, Pines Charter senior Sierra St. Surin won a 50-50 ball and fired a perfect shot from nearly 30 feet away to level the match at 1 in the 44th minute.
St. Surin appeared to put the Jaguars on a path to victory in the fourth minute of overtime when she tapped home a rebound to put Pines ahead 2-1. But Acosta drew McCarthy even four minutes later with a high-arching shot that found the upper corner of the goal.
“We just always have courage and have belief and connection with each other,” Casanova said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re down 1-0 or 2-0, we can face any circumstances.”
MORE GIRLS’ RESULTS
Region 4-5A semifinal - Lourdes 3, Stuart South Fork 0: Gianna Gray had a goal and an assist to lead the Bobcats (14-3). Valentina Kalka had a goal and Cecilia Martinez and Alana Garcia-Menocal each had an assist. Sophia McMillan had a shutout.
Region 4-7A semifinal - Cypress Bay 4, Douglas 0: The Lightning moved one step closer to that elusive first state title on Wednesday night by scoring three first half goals and cruising to the easy win over the Eagles. Cypress Bay will host Wellington Tuesday at 5 in the regional final after defeating Miami Palmetto 2-0 in the opposite semifinal. Palmetto finished 14-4-1.
Mackenzie Rector, Gaby Ferrer and Daniela Duran each scored in the first half before Ana Infante added a second half goal to complete the scoring. Goalkeeper Alejandra Duran recorded her 16th shutout of the season.
Cypress Bay (19-1) is ranked No. 2 in Class 7A with its only loss coming against 3A regional finalist Cardinal Gibbons, 1-0, in early December. Douglas finished 9-7-2.
Region 4-6A semifinal - Cooper City 3, Stuart Martin County 0: Sophomore Rylan Cohen and junior Audyn Soto each had a goal and an assist to lead the Cowboys (14-7-1) to the road win. Junior Michelle Rosen also had a goal, and junior Kayla Weathers had an assist. Junior Bailey O’Neil picked up her seventh shutout. Cooper City will next travel to Fort Lauderdale to face St. Thomas Aquinas at 7 on Tuesday after the Raiders routed West Boca Raton 7-0 in their semifinal.
Region 4-4A semifinal - American Heritage 7, Mater Lakes 0: Sophomore Mattie Hall and freshman Juliana Soto each had two goals to lead the Patriots (15-0-1) back to the regional finals. Hall also had two assists. Freshmen Sofia Bucker and Eliza Osceola-Thomas and sophomore Ariana Doles each scored one goal. Osceola-Thomas and Doles each also had one assist, as did Victoria Burns, Mia Sommers and Alivia LaBarbera. Junior Reagan Rivers and freshman Marlee Mills combined on the shutout.
Heritage extended its unbeaten streak to 28 matches, going back to last season, and will host Somerset Academy on Tuesday at 7. Mater Lakes finished 10-5.
Region 4-4A semifinal - Somerset Academy 4, St. Brendan 0: Ella Provost-Heron once again led the Panthers (12-11-1) with three goals and an assist, and Arianna Peck had one goal. Juliana Cortes, Reagan Rychel and Angelie Carrasco each had one assist. Valerie Martinich made two saves and recorded her fifth shutout. St. Brendan finished 7-9-2.
BOYS’ RESULTS
Region 4-7A semifinal - Cypress Bay 5, Douglas 1 (OT): Rodrigo Castrillo had two goals and two assists as the Lightning (18-1) rallied from a 1-0 deficit and scored four overtime goals to beat the visiting Eagles (12-2-2). Santiago Imperio had two goals while Lorenzo Abbiati had a goal and two assists. Gerardo Galvan also had an assist. Miguel Popiol made six saves during his 100 minutes in goal. Cypress Bay will next host either Columbus or Doral Academy on Tuesday night at 7.
Region 4-6A semifinal - Monarch 2, Miami Beach 1: Sophomore Gabriel Cardoso scored both goals to lead the Knights (15-4-4) to the road victory on Wednesday afternoon. Gustavo Game had one assist. Monarch will next either travel to St. Thomas Aquinas or host South Broward on Tuesday in the regional finals. The Hi-Tides finish 16-2-3.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 9:08 AM.
