St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ soccer strikes early, often to rout Varela
Sometimes it’s just a matter of striking quick.
The St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ soccer team certainly did that on Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders scored just 30 seconds into the game and then scored a second goal less than a minute into the second half. They then added one more score just before the second half water break and that was that.
St. Thomas, the No. 3 seed in its region, cruised to a surprisingly easy 3-0 victory over No. 2 Varela in a Region 4-6A semifinal at the Vipers’ home field.
With top-seeded Miami Beach having been upset in the first round, the Raiders (13-5-6) are now the highest remaining seed and will host No. 4
Hollywood South Broward in a Region 4-6A final on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a trip to the state final four on the line. South Broward eliminated No. 8 McArthur (the team that upset Miami Beach) 3-0 in the opposite semifinal.
This will mark only the second regional final for St. Thomas in the past 12 seasons (the Raiders lost to Fort Lauderdale in 2019). Aquinas will be looking for its first final four berth since it last one a state title in 2011.
“Getting the early goal was nice but then we relaxed,” Aquinas coach John Walsh said. “We won the first 30 seconds but then they won the next 39 and a half after that. They took the game to us from there, but fortunately we didn’t give up a goal.”
That first goal was scored by junior forward
Logan Hall, who quickly took a pass after the opening whistle from Jesus Rodriguez and beat his defender down the left side.
Hall turned in quickly and was one-on-one with Varela keeper Christopher Bernard. When he cut loose with a shot, it went right through Bernard’s legs and it was 1-0.
“I got a layoff from my striker J.J. [Rodriguez], and I just took the line, cut in and got one right through the keeper’s legs,” Hall said. “That was really huge to score so quick like that because it shocked them and allowed us to take charge of the game right away. We were dictating after that.”
Less than a minute after the whistle blew to start the second half, Hall and Rodriguez were at it again only this time in reverse order.
Hall grabbed the ball quickly from the ball boy on an inbounds throw and shot it down the line to a streaking Rodriguez, who beat his defender down the left side before turning toward the goal. Bernard came out to meet him but didn’t have a chance as Rodriguez rocketed a shot into the top right corner of the net to make it 2-0.
“Usually we have a set play for our long throwins,” Hall said. “But when I saw J.J. already had his man beat down the line I took the ball quick from the ball boy and got it down to him.”
For good measure, the Raiders added a third score just before the second half water break when Rodriguez recorded his second assist when he knifed a perfect through ball down the middle to teammate Diego Lara, who easily beat Bernard in another one-on-one situation to make it 3-0 and the Vipers, who finished the season 13-6, were done.
“We were good early on in the second half and once we got the two goal lead, we were good to go after that,” Walsh said. “From there it was a matter of staying clean, not getting any cards and not getting anybody hurt. Now we’re moving on an live for another day.”
MORE RESULTS
Region 4-3A semifinal
● — NSU University School 3, Ransom Everglades 2: Rafael Guerra, Raul Leyva and Arie Perczek each scored a goal to lead the Sharks (17-1-1). Roger Baptiste and Gabriel Ciffoni each recorded assists.
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Region 4-3A semifinals — La Salle 2, Palmer Trinity 0:
Santiago Sanchez had one goal and one assist to lead the Royal Lions. Mario Bardi scored a goal and Stefano Chiodi had an assist. Sebastian
Ochoa made five saves and recorded the shutout.
Region 4-5A semifinal
● — American Heritage 2, TERRA 0: Juan Otero had one goal and one assist to lead the Patriots (16-1-2). Andres Morral Rosales had a goal and Wylie Shaw had an assist.
Region 4-5A semifinals:
● Pembroke Pines Charter 2, Belen Jesuit 0.
Region 4-4A semifinals:
● Cardinal Gibbons 2, St. Brendan 2 (Gibbons wins 5-3 in PKs); Gulliver 2, Key West 2 (Gulliver wins on PKs).
Region 4-7A semifinals:
● Coral Gables 6, Palmetto 2; Doral 2, Monarch 0.
Region 4-2A semifinals:
● Archbishop Carroll 3, Berean Christian 0.