Westminster Christian boys’ soccer outlasts Ransom to begin quest to return to state
Westminster Christian’s path to its first state final two years ago required a memorable comeback against rival Ransom Everglades.
If the Warriors are to get back to that stage again this season, then their epic win in penalty kicks in Tuesday night’s District 15-3A semifinal could be what provides a similar spark.
Led by goalkeeper Reza Reyes, who made three clutch saves in overtime and two more in the penalty kick shootout, Westminster edged Ransom on the Raiders’ home field 6-5 after each team shot nine penalty kicks, which followed a 1-1 draw through 80 minutes of regulation play.
“It’s such an even series between us, it’s always a one-goal game. The emotions are high and we know each other so well,” Westminster Christian coach Josh Kirk said. “We’ve played each other like nine times in three years and with that comes familiarity and that competitive dislike for one another in a positive way, but you get tired of playing each other.”
Westminster (13-2-3), ranked 15th overall in the state and second in Class 3A in the FHSAA’s power rankings, will next host 25th-ranked La Salle in the district final at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The Royal Lions comfortably moved past SLAM 7-1 in the other district semifinal.
However, all four teams, including Ransom Everglades (10-5-4), entered the tournament ranked in the top 40 and virtually assured spots in the regional tournament, which begins next week.
“This wasn’t our goal, but what we can do moving forward,” Kirk said. “We still have a tough match Thursday and our goal is to win five more after that.”
Ransom is seeking its first state title since 2016 and second overall. The Warriors, who lost in their first state finals appearance against Tampa Catholic in 2021, have yet to reach that milestone despite advancing to the state final
four in 1980, 1981 and 2012.
A squad of 16 seniors is hoping to end that drought this season.
Roughly half of that group, according to Kirk, was on the field two years ago when Westminster rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Raiders 3-2 in the regional semifinals. This time, the Warriors trailed 1-0 in the second half after Christian Gardner’s goal off a cross with 9:31 left before halftime put Ransom ahead.
Junior Franco Scopazzo evened things up with
15:23 left in regulation when he angled in a shot
into the corner of the net.
Reyes needed to make a pair of diving saves on one scoring rush by Ransom and another moments later to keep things even during the extra period.
Then, it was on to penalty kicks.
Reyes was the backup goalie in Westminster’s win over Ransom two years earlier. This time, he was leading the charge both in goal and hyping up his teammates before their own kicks.
Tied at 1 after two shots, Reyes actually appeared to give Westminster an advantage when he blocked Kobe Lopez’s attempt. But after diving in the opposite direction, Reyes watched as the ball trickled past the goal line to give Ransom the lead. Things appeared bleak for the Warriors after Sean Maresma’s shot was blocked by Ransom goalie Martin Piedrahita, who also made three saves in the shootout, and Gardner followed with a conversion on his next attempt.
But then Richard Correoso scored and Reyes made one of his clutch stops on a shot by Nicholas Sosa. Lucas Ruiz then scored to tie it at 3 and continue the shootout round. The teams traded goals over the next two and then failed on their eighth attempts as Reyes saved another one on a shot by Ransom’s Nicky Goldberg, setting up the game-winner by Diego Olivo.
Scopazzo, Caue Goncalves and Oscar Paz also converted penalty kicks for Westminster.
“We didn’t expect this to be 100 minutes plus penalty kicks, but we told the guys to prepare for something like this,” Kirk said. “[Reyes] loves these moments. Sometimes, he gets maybe too emotional, but he loves these moments.”