Coral Reef, Columbus win GMAC soccer championships. Next up: District tournaments
For about a minute on Friday, the Coral Reef girls’ soccer team lost control of its GMAC championship match against Ferguson.
A two-goal lead vanished after two long-distance Ferguson shots found the back of the net.
But the Barracudas didn’t waver. Not in the slightest.
A three-goal barrage in the final 10 minutes lifted Coral Reef to a 5-2 win over its district rival at Columbus High to claim its third consecutive GMAC title.
“I felt for the most part we controlled the game,” said Coral Reef coach Deano Nunez, whose team improved to 16-1-2 on the year and will open district tournament action against South Dade on Tuesday. “... You can’t take anything away from those [two goals], but I expect us to compose ourselves, come back and put the ball in the back of the net. We were able to do that and re-take control of the game.”
And once again, it was Tianna Rivera leading the way. The junior recorded a hat trick in the win to finish the three-game GMAC tournament with 10 goals.
Rivera now has 32 on the season heading into the District 16-5A tournament, which begins Tuesday at Varela High.
Rivera opened scoring nine minutes into the contest when she took a pass on the right side of the net and blasted it to the bottom-left corner past the keeper.
Rivera tacked on the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute and added an insurance goal seven minutes later when she headed in a corner kick into the left side of the net. Christina Lagas and Katherine Diaz scored Reef’s other two goals.
Sophomore Rebeka Mejia scored both goals for Ferguson within a span of about 45 seconds midway through the second half.
BOYS’ FINAL
The Columbus Explorers remained patient.
All night, they applied pressure on Reagan in the GMAC boys’ soccer tournament final. At some point, one shot was going to find its way into the net.
And in the 71st minute, it did. Junior Kevin Cassinera scored the game-winner after Reagan’s goalkeeper went one step too far away from the net to give the Explorers a 1-0 win and clinch the GMAC title on their home field. Columbus (15-3-2) defeated Mourning 7-2 and Homestead 1-1 (advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks) to reach the finals.
“Another great game,” Columbus coach Michael Stewart said. “We knew they were a good team tactically and we had to make sure we played our game, which is playing fast.”
The Explorers aren’t done playing at home, though. They’ll host the District 15-5A tournament, which begins on Wednesday.
MORE BOYS SOCCER
▪ Belen 4, Westminster Christian 0: Jayson Repine 2 goals, Lucas Fernandez goal, Lucas Garcia goal, Tyler abella Asssit, Gianluca Mejia assist, Daniel Comas assist, Alejandro Vela assist.
▪ Mater Academy 1, Keys Gate 0: Alvaro Zapata 1 goal, Christian Rodriguez 1 assist, Sandro Rodriguez shutout; MA: 12-5-2.
MORE GIRLS SOCCER
▪ District 16-2A quarterfinal: Gulliver Prep 8, Florida Christian 0 - Hanna Stavola 3 goals, 1 assist; Catalina Carcia 1 goal, 1 assist; Sofia Gordillo 1 goal.
▪ District 14-2A quarterfinal: Coral Springs Charter 1, FAU High 0 - Haley Capplis goal, Bailey Sweginnis assist, Kelsey Dunne 7 saves, shutout.
▪ Mater Academy 4, Goleman 1: Natalie Woodward 1 goal, 1 assist; Karla Vargas 1 goal; Amanda Diaz 1 goal; MA: 14-4-3.
BOYS BASKETBALL
▪ Palmer Trinity 54, Hillel School 52: PT: Thomas 14, A. Waldman 14, G. Friedland 7, Arrien 6, M. Waldman 6, Battaglia 3, Corbo 2, Young 2. HS: Ben-Shmuel 32, Taieb 6, Assraf 5, Abbo 4, Berkman 3, Bacal 2; PT: 14-5.
▪ Killian 78, Coral Reef 64: KIL 15-6.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
▪ Florida Christian 51, Archbishop Carroll 27: Daniela Marrero 20 points 7 steals; Ruby Rico 15 points, 7 steals; Joie Diaz 9 points, 7 rebounds; Andrea Delgado 5 points; Desteny Hernandez; 2 points.
▪ St. Brendan 55, Miami Springs 23: STB: Armas 21, Berrios 10, Jimenez 6, Diaz 5, Gonzalez 4, Rose 3, Silva 2, Escobar 2, Fraga 1, Nunez 1; MS: Silva 16, Duarte 3, Fernandez 2, Walker 2.
▪ Ferguson 63, Southwest 12: FER: Abdala 13, Betancourt 9, Ricardo 8, Garcia 8, Cerchione 7, Charlton 6, Alcivar 4, Ravelo 4, Torres 4; SW: Rodriguez 4, Rios 3, Fuentes 2, Araujo 2, Irizarry 1.
▪ Ransom Everglades 51, Booker T. Washington 14: RE: Sekoff 17, Arnold 8, Lindsey 8, Love 6, Heller 4, Kaplan 4, Muller-Kahle 2, Rosenthal 1, Tein 1; BTW: Jones 9, Leonard 3, Pierre 2.
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