Ferguson boys soccer ousts Cypress Bay, faces Columbus next; Palmetto girls advance

Miami Herald

05-02-2025

Sometimes you just have to ignore the name on the jersey. And that's exactly what the Ferguson boys' soccer team went out and did.
Despite being a No. 3 seed and hosting the No. 6 seed, the Falcons entered Tuesday afternoon's Region 4-7A quarterfinal matchup against Cypress Bay a slight underdog.
This was the same Lightning program that has a half-dozen state championships including five in a seven-year span from 2011 to 2017 with the most recent coming in 2022.
In contrast, Ferguson was making only its second regional appearance in the last 13 years and looking to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2012.
That's exactly what the Falcons did.
An early goal by Rodrigo Carmona in the game's 11th minute didn't seem like a big deal at the time. But as it turned out, it was the only score of the game as the Falcons (10-2-2) on the strength of solid second half defense in addition to a pair of outstanding saves by goalkeeper and senior captain Anthony Pasto emerged with a 1-0 victory at Tropical Park
The win advanced the Falcons (10-2-2) to a regional semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Columbus on Friday at FIU Soccer Park at 7 p.m. after the Explorers eliminated No. 7 seed Coral Glades 5-1 in the opposite quarterfinal.
'Sure they had the caché coming in with the championship banners and there were some our kids yesterday that were talking about how they have all those state titles from the past and were a really strong program,' Ferguson coach Joey Ojeda said. 'I just drilled them on the fact that they play 80 minutes of soccer just like us and that all of that is from the past. Today, they paid no attention to that, fought their tails off from start to finish and came out on top.'
Nobody fought harder than Pasto. With that one goal deficit, Cypress Bay (12-5-3) pressed the action in the second half and had the ball down on Ferguson's end for much of the time. Solid defense kept Cypress Bay players at bay but twice, the Lightning had golden opportunities to score the equalizer.
The first came with 29 minutes left when a perfect centering pass from the corner found Gerardo Galvan down low right smack in front of the net with only Pasto in the way. He right-footed one as Pasto reached out with his left hand to deflect it away. With the ball still loose in front of the net, defender Diego Carmona (no relation to Rodrigo) got to it first and cleared the ball out.
Thirteen minutes later, Lorenzo Abbiatti rifled a perfect centering pass from the right that Sebastian Paba was waiting for. He headed it straight for the left corner of the net but Pasto reached out and snagged it with both hands.
'Sure, I had a couple of big-time saves in the second half which is great but other than that, I didn't have to do much because my defense was out there protecting me,' Pasto said. 'It was all from being locked in, from the start of the game all the way to the final whistle, we all got it done as a team. What we did today meant so much, not just for us but our fans, our school, everybody. Nobody from the outside thought we weren't going to do it today and we kind of felt like the underdog but we had that positivity that I think got us through.'
Carmona's goal was almost a little fluky. When he took a pass down the right side from Alejandro Insignares, Cypress Bay keeper Simon Arango came out to meet him but didn't get there in time. Carmona simply flicked the ball with the side of his right foot and the ball bounced the last 20 yards into the bottom left corner of the net.
'We probably have practiced that play millions of times,' Carmona said. 'I saw the keeper out of the corner of my eye and then just flicked it with my foot to misdirect it. I wasn't sure if I was off sides or not and fortunately I didn't hear the whistle. I honestly didn't think that would turn out to be the only score of the game but fortunately it held up.'
For Ojeda, Tuesday's win signaled that he has this Falcons program on a fast-track to success after taking over a struggling program just 18 months ago.
'I think, last year when I came in, there was a lack of professionalism and a lack of commitment to the program,' said Ojeda, who played for the program before graduating in 2018. 'Last year we lost in the district final when we needed to win in order to make it to regionals and that was real heartbreak for out kids. But I think the heartbreak really inspired the underclassmen to pick up the mantle, maintain that professionalism and commitment to the program and today's result was their reward.'
▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Columbus 5, Coral Glades 1: Jorge Gonzalez-Tello scored a pair of first half goals to stake his team to an early 2-0 lead and the No. 2 seeded Explorers never looked back, cruising to an easy victory.
After Coral Glades scored on a penalty kick early in the second half trimming Columbus' lead to 2-1, Andres Gotera, Jayden Glasper and Santiago Montoya each scored a goal to complete the scoring.
▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Miami Beach 4, Braddock 1: Tomas Visintini 2 goals 1 assist, Jamary Joseph 1 goal, Rocko Benitez 1 goal, Tomas Cortez 1 assist, Yelvim Bustamante 1 assist, Santiago Lemos 1 assist. Miami Beach (16-3-2) will face Olympic Heights in Boca Raton on Friday at 7 p.m.
MORE BOYS SCORES
Region 4-7A: Stoneman Douglas 3, Greenacres John I. Leonard 2; Doral 3, South Dade 1; 4-6A: South Broward 3, Monarch 2; St. Thomas Aquinas 4, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 0; Boca Raton Olympic Heights 5, Fort Lauderdale 1; 4-5A: Pines Charter 6, Sebastian River 0; Archbishop McCarthy 1, Coconut Creek 1 (McCarthy wins 3-1 PK); Varela 3, North Miami 1; 4-4A: Mater Lakes 5, Pompano Beach 1; TERRA 2, Mourning 1; Belen 2, Jackson 0; Somerset Academy 3, Key West 0.
GIRLS' SOCCER
▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Palmetto 1, Boca Raton Spanish River 1 (Pal wins 3-1 in PK): Palmetto goalkeeper Abigail Pereira celebrated her birthday in style on Tuesday night when she recorded a pair of saves during the penalty kick shootout round.
Palmetto (13-4-1) was less than 10 minutes away from winning the game in regulation before Spanish River's Madelyn Garrett scored with 9:27 left tying the game. They could've won it with less than a minute left in the second 10-minute overtime as well but Raya Kempler's shot from the left side bounced off the left post.
Kempler recorded the assist on Palmetto's regulation goal when Cooper Ricklick scored with 12:47 left in the first half. The No. 4 seeded Panthers will travel to Weston on Friday at 6 p.m. to take on top seeded Cypress Bay.
MORE GIRLS SCORES
Region 4-7A: Cypress Bay 3, Boca Raton 0; Wellington 8, Coral Reef 1; Stoneman Douglas 0, Doral 0 (Douglas wins 4-3 PK); 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas 8, Braddock 0; Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 2, Flanagan 1; Cooper City 3, Fort Lauderdale 0; Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge 2, South Broward 1; 4-5A: Lourdes 8, Jensen Beach 0; Archbishop McCarthy 8, Okeechobee 0; Pines Charter 8, Varela 0; 4-4A: American Heritage 8, Key West 0; Somerset Academy 4, Mourning 0; TERRA 1, Mater Lakes 1 (TERRA wins 3-2 PK).