Girls soccer: Boca Raton edges Jupiter in regionals

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
by Matt Porter

In a thrilling match, senior Savannah Poole's goal in the 74th minute gave Boca Raton a 4-3 win over Jupiter in a Class 5A regional quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

With the win, the Bobcats (14-5-4) will play at rival West Boca Raton in Friday's semifinals.

The lead changed hands three times leading up to Poole's goal.

"A very wild game," Boca Raton coach Rachael Grimes said. "I think both teams showed a lot of resiliency tonight."

Boca (14-5-4) opened with a goal from Poole, who scored on a header in the seventh minute. Jupiter (6-6-6) made it 2-1 on goals from Jenna Cote (21st) and sophomore midfielder Kat Weiss (28th), whose shot from 30 yards out bounced past Boca goalkeeper Mari Tamaccio (five saves).

Boca had a wide-open opportunity from the top of the box in the 32nd minute, but sent it wide right. Two minutes later, Jupiter defender Laine Anderson made a sliding stop of a sure goal in front.

On the ensuing corner kick, Boca sophomore Keely Escalante put an open chance over the crossbar. Escalante cashed in on a corner in the 43rd minute to make it 2-all.

In the 48th minute, Jupiter's Savannah Francis corralled a pass from the back line and tried to beat the defense. She stopped 15 feet out, turned and sent a right-footed ball into the top far corner.

Ten minutes later, Boca Raton tied it on a left-footed strike from senior Sabrina Marasco.

Haley Geck (five saves) made a point-blank, breakaway stop on Poole with 12 minutes remaining before Boca once again pushed the tempo and Poole scored the winner.

Jupiter coach Julio Halty said he was "extremely proud" of his team.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Halty said. "That was a great game. It could have gone either way. We made some mistakes, they made some mistakes, but it was a fun game to watch."

CLASS 5A

WEST BOCA RATON 4, PALM BEACH CENTRAL 1

Petra Schult, Kelly Harris, Rachel Pittell and Naty Olsak each scored a goal as the Bulls (14-4-1) beat the Broncos (17-4) in Boca Raton. Erin Gross added two assists for West Boca Raton.

CLASS 4A

MELBOURNE 1, MARTIN COUNTY 0: Madison Provines had 11 saves, but the Tigers (16-5-1) fell to the Bulldogs (15-2-1) in Stuart.

MELBOURNE-VIERA 5, OLYMPIC HEIGHTS 0: The Hawks (16-1-2) rolled past the Lions (10-8-3) in Melbourne.

CLASS 3A

FORT LAUDERDALE-ARCHBISHOP MCCARTHY 3, SUNCOAST 1

Amber Braun made 12 saves and Makeshia Lucien scored a goal, but the Chargers (8-11-1) fell to the Mavericks (15-6) in Riviera Beach.

PLANTATION-AMERICAN HERITAGE 4, JENSEN BEACH 1

Taylor Townsend scored a goal, but the Falcons (14-7-2) fell to the Patriots (27-1-1) in Plantation.

CLASS 2A

AMERICAN HERITAGE 2, FORT LAUDERDALE-CARDINAL GIBBONS 0

Sabrina Chung and Yulie Lopez each scored a goal to lead the Stallions (23-2-1) past the Redskins (6-6-2) in Delray Beach. The Stallions will host Hollywood-Chaminade in Friday's semifinals.

KING'S ACADEMY 4, FORT MYERS-BISHOP VEROT 2

Danielle Hurme, Isabella Contreras, Sarah Collins and Haley Koncir each scored a goal to lead the Lions (16-2-1) over the Vikings (14-4-2) in West Palm Beach. King's will travel to Sarasota-Cardinal Mooney on Friday.

SARASOTA-CARDINAL MOONEY 2, LINCOLN PARK ACADEMY 1 (PKS)

The Cougars (18-2) outlasted the Greyhounds (14-7) to in Sarasota.

CLASS 1A

BOCA RATON CHRISTIAN 5, WESTON-SAGEMONT 0

Gabby Hurtado had three goals and an assist as the Blazers (11-6-2) beat the Lions in Boca Raton. Alex Link had four saves for her fourth shutout.

MELBOURNE-HOLY TRINITY 5, LAKE WORTH CHRISTIAN 0

Tiffany Anderson scored a goal, but the Defenders (20-5-2) fell to the Tigers (5-7-2) in Boynton Beach.

MELBOURNE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 8, JUPITER CHRISTIAN 0

The Hustlers (10-8-3) routed the Eagles (10-6-2) in Melbourne.