Palmetto girls soccer upsets Ferguson in district semis
It made little difference that the Palmetto girls soccer team lost to Ferguson twice during the regular season. When it counted the most, the Panthers got the win they needed.
Palmetto pulled off a mild 2-1 upset of the Falcons in a District 16-5A semifinal Tuesday afternoon at Richmond Heights Middle School. Palmetto will square off against first place district finisher and GMAC champion Coral Reef (which blew out South Dade 8-0 in the other semi) in the district final at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Richmond Heights.
And perhaps Palmetto can be thankful for not qualifying for last week’s GMAC tournament as the Falcons turned in three hard-fought contests making it all the way to the finals while the Panthers rested.
“We watched them [Ferguson] play all of those big games last week and battle Coral Reef in the final while we didn’t play and were resting,” said Palmetto head coach Sam Steele. “Quite honestly I wondered if they [Ferguson] might not have the legs when they came out and we were definitely more fresh so that may have been the key.”
After Rebeka Mejia scored to give Ferguson (14-5-2) an early lead, Palmetto’s Maddi Wise scored just before halftime off an assist from Dominique Mosley, squaring the game at one. The Panthers (10-3-1) then scored the game-winner just before the second half water break when Emma Pardo headed in a perfect crossing pass from Esmerelda Moran.
“A very complete effort and we especially did a nice job defensive,” said Steele, who credited the team’s sweeper Alexandra Abaroa with an especially nice effort as Panther goalkeeper Maria Butler’s net was never seriously threatened down the stretch. “Now we have to take this momentum moving forward and build on it.”
GMAC girls’ basketball final set
It will be Miami High and Norland battling it out for the GMAC girls’ basketball tournament championship.
The Stingarees will host the Vikings for the final game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Miami High advanced out of the semifinals with a 64-24 win over Ferguson on Tuesday. Senior Shekinah Rachel led the way with 17 points, while junior Darria Whitley added 10. Norland defeated Krop 64-59 in the other semifinal. Junior Ronaltha Marc scored a team-high 17 points for the Vikings, with freshman Emoriah McHenry and sophomore Jayiah Harris-Smith adding 14 and 13 points, respectively. Krop senior Destynne Francois scored a game-high 23 points in the loss.
GIRLS SOCCER
▪ District 15-5A semifinal: Lourdes 8, Coral Park 0 – Mia Briones 2 goals; Emma Diaz 2 goals; Lexi Fabregas 2 goals; Mila Kuylenstierna 1 goal; Alexa Mascaro 1 goal, 4 assists; Lourdes: 17-1-1.
▪ District 16-5A semifinal: Coral Reef 8, South Dade 0 – Mia Vissepo 2 goals, 1 assist, Christina Lagas 2 goals, Emma Diaz shutout. CR: 17-1-2.
▪ District 16-3A semifinal: Miami Springs 10, Hialeah-Miami Lakes 0 – Ashley Romay 3 goals, 1 assist, Jasmine Romay 2 goals, 6 assists, Elizabeth Vizcaino 2 goals 1 assist, Sarah Schuster 2 goals. MS: 14-6
▪ District 16-3A semifinal: Mourning 3, Goleman 2 –District championship, MS vs. ATM, Thursday, 7 p.m. at Traz Powell.
▪ District 15-4A semifinal: St. Thomas Aquinas 8, South Broward 0 – Catherine Brinis 2 goals; Jade Munson 1 goal, 2 assists; Izabella Perez 1 goal, 1 assist; Isabella Piso 1 goal, 1 assist; Lauren Plunket 1 goal, 1 assist; Arielle Favreau and Ashley Carillo, 1 goal each; Inez O’Neil, Brooke Sanfillipo and Shannon Guerrin 1 assist each, Emma Goldfine and Alexandra Carpintero combined shutout.
▪ District 15-4A semifinal: Archbishop McCarthy 8, Nova 0 – Adriana Duque 5 goals, Riley Balser 1 goal 1 assist, Eliana Ramirez and Lili Katz 1 goal each, Cassie Lawson, Kelly Hastings, Devyn Encalada and Sofia Mallardi 1 assist each. AM: 20-0-0.
▪ District 16-2A semifinal: Carrollton 5, Key West 0 – Annie Diaz-Silveira 2 goals, 1 assist; Maryann Alcantara 2 goals; Alexis Diaz-Silveira 1 goal, 4 assists; Sophie Morin shutout.
BOYS’ SOCCER
▪ District 15-5A semifinal: Columbus 6, Coral Park 0 – Jourdan Zojaji 3 goals, 1 assist; Nicolas Dopazo, Trent Lima and Gerardo Palacios 1 goal each; Diego Vega 3 assists; Christopher Valdez 1 assist; GK Eduardo Cardonne 4 saves, shutout.
▪ District 15-2A semifinal LaSalle 3, Edison 0 – LAS 18-4-2
GIRLS BASKETBALL
▪ Carrollton 63, R.A.S.G. Hebrew 20: Paneque 24, Mas 19, Benitez 7, Mendez 4, Rabassa 4, McCarthy-Levy 3, Perez 2. CAR: 17-3.
▪ Westminster Christian 48, Marathon 47: WCS: D. Coakley 25, H. Donovan 14, K. Alejo 7, C. Boulris 2.
▪ St. Brendan 57, Southwest 40: STB: C. Armas 29, D. Fraga 12, P. Berrios 6, B. Silva 5, R. Viaros 5; SW: I. Fanez 17, C. Arayo 9, M. Hernandez 6, A. Luis 2, M. Gonzalez 2, M. Rodriguez 2, Irizarry 2.
BOYS BASKETBALL
▪ Miami Christian 50, Schoolhouse Prep 49: Diego Rivera 21, (game-winning shot), Gonzalo Gonzalvo 12.
▪ North Miami 77, Miami High 70: NM: Charles 32, Monestime 14, Andrews 10, Metayer 8. Rebounds: Charles 10. Steals: Charles 4; MH: Justin Neely 22, McBride 18, Davis 16, Clavero 9, Perez-Bravo 3, Joshua Neely 1, Dorcely 1; NM: 15-5; MH: 15-6.
▪ SLAM 61, Gulliver 52: SLAM: Issad Solano 17 points, 10 reb, 8 ast; Jordan Hamburger 12 points, 4 ast; Kaleb Figueroa 10 pts, 11 reb; GP: Tony Sanders 20, Diego Lamonica 17, Gaberiel Taylor 12.
▪ Braddock 61, Somerset Silver Palms 37: BRAD: E. Perez 12, C. Perez 11, P. Hernandez 8, Campbell 7. SSP – S. Hernandez 11, Bernard 8, Lago 6, Astro 5. BRAD: 10-10.
▪ Mourning 57, Reagan 40: ATM – Philemon 15, Thompson 11, Hunt 7. Rebound: Philemon 11.
▪ Killian 52, Varela 7: KIL: 17-6.