Lourdes secures return trip to soccer state finals
By now, they know the way to Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
The Lourdes Academy girls’ soccer team has made it a regular stop over the past five years and 2022 will be no exception thanks to another nail-biting late goal that sent the Bobcats back to the state championship game.
Samantha Diaz and Coco Aguilar combined for a perfect set-piece goal with just over a minute left in regulation to give Lourdes a dramatic 2-1 victory over Land O’ Lakes in a Class 6A state semifinal contest before a packed and noisy crowd at Belen Jesuit’s De La Cruz Stadium.
The win advances Lourdes to the Class 6A state final where the Bobcats (17-1-3) will take on Neptune Beach Fletcher on Friday at
1:05 p.m. at their “home away from home,” Spec Martin Stadium.
It’s the fourth time in the past five years Lourdes has made it to the state title game, all played at the same venue, and the Bobcats will be looking to notch the program’s third state title after winning it in 2018 and 2020.
It was also the third consecutive game Lourdes won in dramatic fashion, after beating Dwyer in double overtime in the regional semifinals and Doral 1-0 on a goal with less than three minutes left in the regional final.
Just when it appeared the game was headed to overtime, a foul on Land O’ Lakes from 30 yards out gave Lourdes a direct kick. Diaz gave it a pop with her right foot and dropped it perfectly in front of the net. Aguilar managed to head the ball perfectly toward the left side of the net past diving goalkeeper Caidee Sumner with 1:07 left.
“We work on set plays like that all the time and I always try and be the first one to the ball,” Aguilar said. “When I saw it coming in, I knew I had a good chance to get to it.”
Aguilar spoke of the scoring chances Lourdes had yet could not seem to find a way to get the ball past Sumner, who made numerous outstanding saves.
After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the game’s 11th minute when Katerina Puig headed in a loose ball in front of the net that Sumner couldn’t handle off a
Diaz direct kick from the side, Lourdes was primed to make it 2-0 a few minutes later when Aguilar was fouled in the box, giving them a penalty kick.
But Puig’s shot toward the bottom left missed the post by inches.
The Gators, (13-8-1) who were playing in their third straight state semi and looking for their first trip to the final since 2015, stunned the Bobcats with a tying goal with just under a minute left in the first half on Eve Garrett’s score from 35 yards away.
In his first year after taking over for longtime Lourdes coach Ramiro Vengoechea, who stepped away from the program after last season, David Fique has had to put nearly an entirely new team on the field as the Bobcats graduated eight seniors off last year’s state final team.
“Just unreal, so many chances all night, and they just couldn’t get the ball in the net,” Fique said. “But these were a determined bunch of girls and I can’t be more proud of them for hanging in there and finding a way to get it done. To get back to the state final once again with so many new girls on the field is really something. Two state championships and four out of five state finals is something to really be proud of. Hopefully we can finish it off.”
Class 7A state semifinal - Cypress Bay 3, Boca Raton 0: Barbara Garcia scored twice and Sarah Rubio added another as the Lightning (16-4-1) secured their fourth consecutive trip to the state final. Cypress Bay will face St. Johns Creekside at 4:05 p.m. on Friday in the state championship game at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
Class 3A state semifinal - Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin 4, North Broward Prep 2: The Eagles finished 165-1 after securing their first-ever trip to the state final four.
Class 2A state semifinal - St. Johns Country Day 8, Westminster Academy 0: The Lions finished 10-9-2 after falling to the 10-time reigning state champions.