Cypress Bay girls’ soccer suffers another crushing heartbreak in state final
How much heartbreak can a coach and a soccer program take?
The Cypress Bay girls’ soccer team, along with coach Kate Dwyer, having had to settle for five state runner-up finishes over the previous seven seasons, reached a new threshold of pain on Wednesday night.
Never had they come as close in those previous five attempts as they did on this night when, as a decided underdog against No. 3 nationally-ranked Lake Mary, they played their hearts out for 100 scoreless minutes of soccer.
Not even five frames of penalty kicks could settle the issue. It wasn’t until Lake Mary’s Kailey Susi knocked a shot past diving Cypress Bay goalkeeper Alejandra Duran in the bottom of the seventh frame that the issue was finally settled as Lake Mary won the PK round 4-3 in the Class 7A state championship game at Spec Martin Stadium.
It marked the second consecutive state title for Lake Mary, which defeated Cypress Bay 2-0 in last year’s title game and fifth overall for the program. On the flip side, Cypress Bay passed Boca Raton for most runner-up finishes (6) without a state title.
Cypress Bay players lay sprawled on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably when it was over.
“I’m not going to play soccer anymore and knew this would be my last game and it’s so heartbreaking right now,” said sobbing and teary-eyed midfielder Gabriela Ferrer. “I really thought this was going to be the year we finally broke through and when the game went to PKs I really thought it was going to happen for us. I’m so proud of my team and everything we’ve done. I could not have asked anything more from anybody.”
Against teams like Palm Harbor University, St. Johns Bartram Trail, St. Johns Creekside and Lake Mary a year ago, the Lightning had never really come close in the championship games.
But, despite going up against a team that was returning nearly every starter from last year’s championship team and had a roster littered with college commits, Cypress Bay grinded for 80 minutes of regulation and another 20 of overtime. The Lightning hung tough despite getting outshot 10-3 as the Lightning (21-2) spent a good portion of the contest defending their own side of the field.
Had it not been for an incredible effort from Duran, Cypress Bay would’ve never gotten to overtime. Duran, in a nutshell, had the game of her life as Lake Mary peppered her goal for most of the game. Like a lion protecting her cubs, she didn’t let a single ball get through.
Even when the Rams (20-2-1) were awarded a penalty kick 10 minutes into the game after Atika Hassan was called for a handball inside the box, Duran didn’t flinch.
Peyton O’Linn lined up for the PK, rocketed a shot toward the bottom right corner of the net and Duran stretched out perpendicular to her left and blocked the shot.
In overtime, she was incredible, saving three shots. Unfortunately Lake Mary goalkeeper, Lilly Ellis, a freshman, matched her save for save. When Cypress Bay’s Paz De Luca came up for kick number seven, Ellis stoned her fourth shot. Susi then stepped up and drilled one into the top right corner of the net ending the marathon contest.
“In my mind, I was just trying to simply stay calm and mentally focused the entire game and in the PKs as well,” Duran said. “In PKs I didn’t want to get myself to react too early and let the shooter know which way I was leaning. I was mostly trying to guess off of their foot. It was perseverance. I was just trying to do my best to save my team and did everything I could. I’m so upset that in the end, it wasn’t enough.”
Then there was the real backstory of the day – Dwyer.
Now in her 21st year heading up the program, so many were pulling for her to finally get that elusive state title. She had to deal with coming up short once again.
But Dwyer was the picture of class and dignity after the game, not fretting about another lost chance by her as much as trying to console her girls and let them know how proud she was of them.
“The tears from me are more for happiness than sadness right now,” said Dwyer, her voice cracking with emotion. “I mean yeah I know this stinks and that we didn’t win but these girls, I’m beyond proud of what they left out on that field today. They absolutely just played their hearts out for a hundred minutes against a team that nobody gave us a realistic chance of beating.
“They’re heartbroken right now I understand but I told them the memories that they’re making with their friendships is so much more than soccer. Obviously they don’t want to hear that right now but all I can do is try instill in them that life is more about soccer so hopefully they’ll appreciate all of this some day down the road.”
Does Dwyer ever look up to the sky, and ask the soccer gods, “Why me?”
“It’s funny, my assistant coach asked me the same thing,” Dwyer said. “And the answer is absolutely not. It’s not for me to do that. Again, I’m okay with this. I’m not chasing it anymore. If it ever comes, great. But I refused to let it consume me. My tears tonight are of happiness for my girls, not me.”