Miami-Dade High Schools

Gibbons, Krop, Ransom, SLAM boys and Lourdes, Miami Springs girls win soccer district titles

Moises Jena scored twice and had an assist, and Edward Velez added a key goal as the Krop boys’ soccer team edged Flanagan 3-2 to win a Class 7A district title on Wednesday.

Jena gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead early in the match. Later in the half, Velez extended the advantage 2-0 with the assist to Jena. Alessandro Fraticelli assisted Jena’s second and winning goal midway through the second half.

Flanagan, though, did not quit, scoring twice late in the game to make things close.

Senior Davin Derial and senior captain Jeremy Nichols, two four-year letterwinners, anchored the defense which dominated much of the game.

“The [team] maintained good composure and is united together, playing as a team. The camaraderie and bonding are strong, and everybody has stepped up,” said assistant coach Moe Vahnish. “It was beautiful soccer played, and they showed poise under pressure, when their backs were against the wall late in the game.”

Krop will host Cypress Bay on Wednesday in the region quarterfinal. Flanagan will travel to district champ Naples-Gulf Coast.

Photo Courtesy Cardinal Gibbons boys' soccer

Cardinal Gibbons 1, Somerset 0: Team captain Noah Hart scored the winner in the 70th minute off an assist from Jason Trujillo as the Chiefs won a Class 4A district title on Wednesday.

It marked the 10th district title for Gibbons and first since 2013.

Goalkeepers Daniel Copeland-Del Toro (first half) and Grant Rodriquez (second half) combined on another shutout. That formula (splitting halves) has worked for Gibbons this season. They recorded seven shutouts with each allowing just one goal.

In the district finals, they received solid defensive support from Hart, Riley Holden and Deni Rivard.

Gibbons (7-1-2) will play home against Jensen Beach on Wednesday. Somerset goes on the road against district champ North Broward Prep.

Photo By Carl Kafka Courtesy Ransom Everglades

Ransom Everglades 4, Westminster Christian 0: The Raiders won a Class 3A district title on Wednesday for the first time since 2016, which is when they also won their first and only state title.

Dillon Kaye opened the scoring midway through the first half. Co-captain Danny Menodza scored early in the second half and again late in the game. David Pulido also scored. Co-captain Nic Stone-Perez was outstanding on defense to help keeper Walker White record the shutout.

“I think they’re really coming on late in the season, playing their best soccer right now,” said Coach Dave Villano, who is in his 34th season at Ransom. “The past four years we’ve been taking some steps forward each year, and this season we have the possibility to go far, reaching our crescendo.”

Ransom Everglades (11-1-5) hosts Keys Gate on Wednesday in the region quarterfinals. Westminster Christian travels to district champ Marathon.

Photo Courtesy SLAM boys' soccer

SLAM 3, Miami Country Day 1: Sophomore Norman Alvarez had a goal and an assist, and junior Sebastian Cryille recorded two assists as the Titans won their third district title in four years in a Class 3A battle on Wednesday.

Sophomore Felipe Ramierz scored the winner, and junior Bryan Diaz added a key goal. Sophomore David Hernandez was outstanding on defense to help senior keeper Johan Castillo.

Victor Destri scored for the Spartans. Trailing 2-1 with about two minutes remaining, MCD pushed its attack, and SLAM held, scoring on the counter.

SLAM, which out shot MCD 12-8, avenged a 4-0 defeat to MCD earlier in the season. SLAM is 6-6-3.

“We made a very difficult schedule to prepare our team for a deep playoff run,” said SLAM assistant coach Pasquale Giovine.

SLAM hosts Calvary Christian on Wednesday in a region quarterfinal. MCD will travel to play district champ Pine Crest.

Photo Courtesy Lourdes girls' soccer

Girls’ soccer

Lourdes 2, Doral 0: The defending state champion Bobcats won their seventh consecutive district title with Coach Ramiro Vengoechea.

In this Class 6A district final on Monday, Katy Puig scored the winner off an assist from Jilli Diaz. That goal gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead near the end of the first half. Olivia Borotto added an insurance goal in the 69th minute with Emma Diaz on the assist.

Goalkeeper Mia Alexander recorded the shutout with solid support from Alexa Sanchez. J.Diaz, Caroline Hoynack, and Maya Rionda.

“It’s been a a difficult year because of covid, an up-and-down season, and it’s been hard with a lot of games being canceled,” Vengoechea said. “With all that being said, the performance in the district final was their best performance of the season, and it’s a good time to be getting into a good form like that, heading into the regional tournament.”

Lourdes hosts North Miami on Tuesday in the region quarterfinals. Doral visits district champ Goleman.

Photo Courtesy Miami Springs girls' soccer

Miami Springs 8, Hialeah-Miami Lakes 0: Rebecca Baldelomar had four goals and an assist to lead the Golden Hawks (6-2) in this 4A district final on Wednesday.

Enma Amaya had a goal and two assists, and Latyfath Ubeda, Danay Romero and Suli Escoto also scored.

Miami Springs hosts Key West on Tuesday in a region quarterfinal. HML travels to district champ Gulliver Prep.

All region quarterfinal winners above meet in the region semifinals.

Boys’ tennis

North Broward Prep 4, American Heritage 3: 1. Daniel Naylor (AH) d. Jacob Hartman 9-8 (7-5 tiebreaker); 2. Charles Goldwyn (AH) d. Jesse Riback 8-1; 3. Andrew Gaines (NBP) d. Anirudh Lingaraju 8-6; 4. Bechara Neto (NBP) d. Nathan Debs 8-6; 5. Max Roseberg (NBP) d. Joshua Dobrinsky 8-2. Doubles: 1. Daniel N./Charles G. (AH) d. Jacob H./Jesse R. (NBP) 6-4; 2. Andrew G./Bechara N. (NBP) d. Anirudh L./Nathan D. 6-5 (7-4 tiebreaker).

Girls’ tennis

Miami Country Day 7, North Palm Beach Benjamin 0: Allexii Bassette won 8-1; Gaby Bassette won 8-1; Maria Salazar won 8-1.

American Heritage 7, North Broward Prep 0: 1. Sangee Prieto d. Morgan Silber 8-0; 2. Emily Stouch d. Allesandra Tiongson 8-1; 3. Jacklyn Daynovsky d. Samantha Mirrer 8-0; 4. Grace Odom-Montbrun d. Jamie Leon 8-0; 5. Livia Kaufman d. Lauren Goldberg 8-0. Doubles: 1. Sangee P./Jacklyn D. d. Morgan S./Allesandra T. 6-0; 2. Emily S./Grace O. d. Samantha M./Jamie L. 6-0.

Boys’ water polo

Belen Jesuit 25, Miami Beach 5: Carlos Veccio Jr. 7 goals; Dylan Veccio 5; André de León 3; Alessandro Di marzo 2; Antonio Franco 2; Adolfo Valencia 2; Raúl Rodríguez 1; Luis González 1; Héctor Santaella 1; Zachary Callejas 1.

All County Teams

The Miami Herald All County teams for Fall sports will be in the Feb. 17 edition as well as on the Miami Herald website.

Wrestling coaches

To nominate 2-3 top high school wrestlers of the week, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Include school, first and last name, weight class, what the wrestler did. Varsity only.

Submit varsity

game results

For high schools in Broward and Miami Dade counties, if you have varsity game results for this column, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Varsity only.

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Roundup compiled

by Jim Varsallone

jvarsallone@miamiherald.com

This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 10:40 PM.

Jim Varsallone
Miami Herald
Jim Varsallone writes a high school sports column twice a week, featuring top performers in all varsity sports (boys and girls) in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. He also covers pro wrestling, something he’s done since his college days in the late 1980s. Now in his fifth decade of coverage, he currently follows WWE (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), AEW, Ring of Honor, TNA Impact Wrestling, MLW, WOW, NWA, and the South Florida indies, mainly CCW. He writes MMA, too -- mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team and Sanford MMA fighters in South Florida. As for pro wrestling, he writes feature stories and profile pieces, updates upcoming show schedules in South Florida, photographs the action and interviews talent (audio and video) -- sharing the content here and via social media on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel). Support my work with a digital subscription
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