They needed overtime, but Lourdes once again topped Reef in the regional semis

Some day, Coral Reef is going to finally bust through that glass ceiling and get past that Lourdes hurdle.

But Friday night brought more frustration for the Barracudas when Lourdes, on the strength of a perfectly executed set piece from Alexa Mascaro to Alexa Fabregas three minutes into the first overtime, won a thriller, defeating Coral Reef 4-3 in a Region 4-5A semifinal contest at Tropical Park.

It marked the fourth consecutive year and seventh time in the last 10 years that Lourdes has ended Reef’s season. But this one was the first to go to overtime, making it that much more painful for Reef.

But it also made it that much more thrilling for the Bobcats, the defending state 5A champions who now advance to Tuesday’s regional final where they will host Cypress Bay at 7 p.m. at either Tropical or Columbus High School. It will mark the fourth straight year the two programs have met in the regional final with Lourdes having won the previous three.

“A great game and I think it was a response from the Palmetto game the other night and the girls were eager to show that they had something to prove,” said Lourdes coach Ramiro Vengoechea whose team struggled in a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Palmetto three nights earlier. “But credit to Coral Reef, a very good team, well coached and we always knew it was going to be a battle tonight.”

And it was as the two teams put on a spectacular first half show, scoring five combined goals in the first 30 minutes before settling in to a more defensive battle in the second half.

Trailing 3-2 with 23 minutes left, Coral Reef tied it when Lourdes goalkeeper Mia Alexander fouled Tianna Rivera inside the box. Rivera then converted the PK into the bottom left side of the net to tie the game.

Mascaro and Fabregas then teamed up for their well-executed goal.

“We practice that play a lot in practice and it’s something that Ramiro really stresses,”said Mascaro, who took the corner kick. “Right before I kicked it I had a really good feeling about it. I saw Lexi (Fabregas) making a move toward the net and put it right where she needed it.”

“It was a set play where I came from the back post and made my way to the front post,” Fabregas added of her game-winning header. “As my teammates went to the back post, I found a pocket and the ball was coming straight at my head and I got clean contact.”

The Bobcats spent the next 17 minutes of the first and second overtimes protecting the lead before the final whistle sounded. Coral Reef’s best scoring chance during that span came right at the end of the first overtime when Rivera broke free down the middle and was in a foot race with Alexander to get to the ball. A race that Alexander won by a fraction of a second.

Lourdes got out of the box and stunned Reef when Mia Atrio popped one in eight minutes into the game and then did it again two minutes later to jump up 2-0.

But the Barracudas showed big-time grit but battling back, scoring twice themselves over the next 10 minutes on goals by Daniella Perez and Rivera.

Just a few minutes after the first-half water break, Alyssa Granda knocked one in for Lourdes giving the Bobcats their 3-2 halftime cushion.

“We wanted to really start off strong which we did and got the early two goal lead but maybe we might’ve relaxed a little and let them get back in it,” said Atrio. “Once that happened, we were in a dogfight for the rest of the night.”

“I told them I wasn’t going to congratulate them for losing but that I was going to congratulate them for leaving everything out there on the field because that’s what my girls did out there tonight,” said Coral Reef coach Deano Nunez, a picture of frustration. “Most teams that would’ve fallen behind Lourdes 2-0 early in the game would’ve crumbled and quit but they battled right back and got the game tied. It’s just really frustrating because it was a game that could’ve gone either way. Credit them (Lourdes) though, they made one more play than we did.”