Palmer Trinity boys’ soccer rallies to win second consecutive state title

Giving up an early goal in a state championship game, in this case less than two minutes after the opening whistle, usually can be a shock to a team and lead to more bad things the rest of the game.

But the Palmer Trinity boys’ soccer team never flinched. Having spent all season as the defending 1A champions and dealing with all kinds of adversity, what was one more hurdle to clear?

Sure enough, the Falcons scored the equalizer 10 minutes later to set the stage for a dramatic goal from Michael Gomez with 9:58 left as the Falcons, with their fans screaming “back-to-back,” knocked off St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep. 2-1 on Thursday at Spec Martin Stadium to repeat as Class 1A state championship.

“It happened to us last year and a few times this year in big games,” said Palmer Trinity head coach Eric Perri, referring to his team’s deficit to Tallahassee Maclay in last year’s state title game before winning in overtime for the school’s first team state title in any sport. “I looked at my coaches and we just said ‘we’ve been down this road before’ and there was no backdown from the kids. We knew what we had to do. We adjusted, made a couple of switches and just closed things down.”

The Falcons won all five of their playoff games by a single goal, including overtime victories in the regional final (Hillel) and state semifinal (Lakeland Christian).

Following Shorecrest’s goal by Asher Rovin just 1:39 into the game, Palmer Trinity (22-3-2) immediately went into a pressing offense to try and create chances.

It paid off 11 minutes later when Robert Bistry dumped a ball in down low from the right hand side that came loose in front. Jonathan Ludwig got just enough of his foot on a high bounce that barely snuck underneath the arms of diving Shorecrest keeper Lucas Murphy.

Even though the first 30 minutes of the second half went scoreless, the Falcons controlled the action on their end and enjoyed better chances.

Then came the game-winner when senior captain Alberto Franceschi got to a loose ball on the right side as Murphy came out for it. It went back left to Gomez, who drilled the shot into the top left corner of the net.

“I was watching him (Franceschi) and saw him cut in for the ball,” said Gomez. “He got to the ball and just like that, I found myself in front of the goal and got good foot on it and it went in. What a moment for us. It not only felt like another state championship but a dynasty with back-to-back state titles.”

The Falcons still needed to play solid defense for the final 10 minutes and did so even though Shorecrest (19-4-1), which was in a state final for the first time in program history, pressed hard in an attempt to create chances. PT keeper Christian Lopez needed to make a few saves but nothing of the dramatic variety before the final whistle blew and sent Falcon players into mass celebration at the center of the field.

“This whole season has been so tough being a defending state champ and playing with a marker on our backs so to do this again, it feels even better than last year,” said Franceschi, who had the golden-goal game winner to beat Maclay a year ago and is off to Wheaton College in Boston. “Even though this is my last game, I feel like this is just the beginning. It’s not about me. It’s way bigger than that. It’s about this school and the younger guys having the same motivation to continue to do what we’ve done.”