3 takeaways from Olympic Heights’ upset of Jupiter

JUPITER — Olympic Heights boys soccer defied expectations on Tuesday night, defeating three-seed Jupiter 2-1 in the regional quarterfinal.

They needed a knee to win — Leo Burguete’s, to be exact.

The senior midfielder found the space needed to score his third goal of the season, and he could haven’t picked a more opportune time.

Jupiter’s (11-3-2) season draws to a surprising close, while Heights (12-7-4) will advance to the semifinals against Celebration (10-2-2).

“I’m all for these boys,” Olympic Heights head coach Keith Fries said.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s action.

It’s about quality, not quantity

Then again, it doesn’t hurt when you have both.

Olympic Heights played a dominant second half, but the game didn’t necessarily start that way.

The Lions scored first through Guilhermee Pes but then entered survival mode for a while as the Warriors peppered the goal, finally breaking through when Brennan Sims tucked in a deflection.

But the Lions made the most of the chances they had, and that made the difference.

In the end, it was Burguete who scored what would be the game-winner after a free kick was deflected out of bounds, setting the Lions up for a corner kick.

“That was a very exciting play,” Burguete said. “For the corner, I had to make see him back to lead the ranks, especially with Sims graduating. In the end, Tuesday’s loss ends the Warriors’ season, but as in all sports, sometimes short-term memory is a good thing to have.

“It’s hard, but they’ll bounce back tomorrow,” Allahar said.

Heights comfortable in face of adversity

Cool, calm, and collected.

That’s the picture Olympic Heights soccer has painted during its postseason run.

“They’re just relaxed,” Fries said. “They’re enjoying it. And they’re comfortable.”

When a team is able to play its game regardless of the opposition’s strengths and is able to dictate the pace through style of play, that’s a winning combination almost every time, underdog or not.

“Everybody thinks they can beat us, but once we’re on the field, we destroy them,” Andrade said.

That type of confidence stems from playing top-tier teams across the county and beyond, a pattern that has battledhardened the Lions.

“For three seasons now, they’ve played the toughest schedule we can find,” Fries said. “In these kinds of moments, it pays off. We go and play the best teams we can in Broward, the best teams we can in Boca, the best teams in Palm Beach County, and we expect to be in situations like this.”

And for a team that hasn’t won a state championship since 2002, the countdown to a shot at breaking that drought has suddenly become quite short.

“It feels amazing,” Burguete said. “I’m ready for the next round.”