Lourdes falls in 6A final for second year in a row
DELAND
Some days, the soccer gods just aren’t on your side.
Despite controlling the ball most of the game and enjoying many more scoring chances while limiting their opponent to virtually none, it didn’t matter for the Lourdes Academy soccer team.
In the end, it’s all about the ball finding the back of the net. And that’s what the Bobcats could not do on Friday afternoon. The net result was a frustrating 1-0 loss to Neptune Beach Fletcher in the Class 6A state championship game at Spec Martin Stadium.
For the third time in the past five years, the Bobcats have had to settle for runner-up medals including last year’s equally heartbreaking penalty-kick loss to Venice. Lourdes won state titles in 2018 and 2020.
It marked the first state title for a Fletcher program that was making only its second state final appearance, the only other being a lopsided loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in 1998.
“At the end of the day, congratulations to Fletcher, they’re a great team as well and fought hard to get here and just made one more play than we did,” said first-year Lourdes coach David Fique. “When it comes down to last week [2-1 semifinal win over Land O’ Lakes] and today, our focus was to just try and do everything we could to find the back of the net and it just didn’t happen today and it pretty much stinks.”
Fique had to watch as his players, after a sluggish start in the game’s first 20 minutes, eventually started to pick up the pace and create some good scoring chances. Meanwhile, the Lourdes defense was pretty tight all day long as the Senators
(18-5-2), up until the second half water break, had recorded just one official shot on goal.
It was the second one that broke the hearts of the Lourdes faithful. Just two minutes later, at the 18-minute mark, the only defensive mistake of the game proved costly as a high pass down the middle found Angelina Madera one-on-one with Lourdes keeper Gabriella Paredes. Madera barely beat her to the ball and then toe-kicked a high shot over her head and the ball trickled into the net.
Lourdes’ best chance came with 13 minutes left when Olivia Borroto broke free in a one-onone behind all defenders.
Just as she right-footed a liner toward the net, keeper Taylor Sweat charged at her and reached out with her right leg to get a piece of the ball and deflect it away. Lourdes finished the day with a 14-3 advantage in shots on goal.