Latest news with #Region4-5A
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Mater Academy outlasts Varela to secure first trip to state baseball final four since 2014
Nearly three months ago, Mater Academy shortstop Brandon Lorenzo was dealing with an injury and unsure when he'd be back on the field. The Lions were 1-5 and questioning how good a team which entered the season with high expectations really was. On Thursday night at Westland Gardens Park, Lorenzo hit a grand slam and later ran around the field celebrating with his teammates and coaches after the final out was recorded on a 10-8 victory over Varela. If you would have told Lorenzo this scene would play out three months earlier, he might not have believed it. 'I knew we could flip the page at any moment,' Lorenzo said. 'We did. I really believe in my guys. They're like family to me.' The victory secured a 2-0 series win for the Lions (23-9-1) over the Vipers (20-10-2) and the Region 4-5A championship. It also propelled Mater Academy to the state final four for the first time since it won its lone state championship in 2014. The Lions will face either Fort Myers or Braden River next Thursday at either 10 a.m. or 1 in a state semifinal at Hammond Stadium. 'We played a great team in Varela, but hey, I'll take my guys into battle any day,' Mater Academy coach Humberto Bencomo said. 'We faced a lot of adversity, people looking at each other, even us as coaches, we were pointing fingers and trying to figure out what was going wrong. Once we got into March, we started playing at home and we started playing better.' Following a 5-2 victory over Varela in the first game of the series on Tuesday, the Lions found themselves trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. But Mater put together a major response, scoring nine runs, highlighted by Lorenzo's grand slam. Earlier in the inning, Lorenzo hit a double to right field and came around to score on another double by Alfrin Rosario, which opened the scoring in that frame. Lorenzo had two doubles overall as he went 3-for-3 with four RBI. Jonathan Esponda also went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Jacob Amador went 2-for-3. 'It was just me and the pitcher and the ball,' Lorenzo said. 'They were pitching me fastball all day, and I proved to them that I could hit the fastball with two doubles in the first couple of innings so they came with a curveball in that at-bat and I hammered it. I got close the first two times, but I did some pushups in the dugout and got a little extra juice for that one.' The Vipers, who made it to the regional final for the first time, were resilient themselves, as they put together three runs in the top of the fifth to chase Mater starter Jeuri La Rosa after he gave up seven runs on 10 hits over 4 ⅓ innings. Nick Baluja led Varela, going 2-for-3 with two RBI while Jiovanni Zara had two RBI and Luis Sosa had a double. The Lions called upon closer Vladi Baldespina early with the goal of recording the final eight outs. Although he allowed one more Varela run in the sixth when Armando Mendez scored on a wild pitch, Baldepina limited the damage and later worked a perfect seventh to end the game. 'He's been hungry and dealing with a few little things,' Bencomo said. 'This is where it counted.' Mater Academy's tough early stretch led to a positive turn which saw the Lions win eight of their next nine. Bencomo said a major turning point was a road trip in late March to play in a tournament in Las Vegas where Mater swept all three games and finally had its full lineup including Lorenzo. 'That's when we really took off,' Bencomo said. 'We played incredibly over there. It was so many things, hitting, defense, everything. This is amazing.'
Miami Herald
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Poll: Who should be the Miami Herald's High School Athlete of the Week? (Feb. 24)
South Florida's top athletes were recognized recently in the sports of basketball, cheerleading, soccer and wrestling. This week, we continue a feature where we ask you to vote for the best performer of the week from baseball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer and weightlifting in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Take our poll below to cast your vote. The poll will be open until Thursday, Feb. 27, around 10 p.m. You may vote as often as you like until then. Here are the candidates: NOTE: You should see a Miami Herald box underneath this note for you to type Yes and click Submit. That will ignite the actual poll to vote. ▪ Mia Conard, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons soccer: the junior scored the winner (the game's only goal) with 4:30 remaining as the Chiefs (13-5-2) edged Davie NSU University School 1-0 for the Region 4-3A title. ▪ Kaleb Corbitt, Pompano Beach Blanche Ely basketball: the junior scored a team-high 19 points, including a put-back basket off a rebound with 2:38 left to put the Tigers up 48-47 as Ely won the Region 4-5A title over defending state champ Pembroke Pines Charter 59-56. With 7.1 seconds left, he cooly drained two free throws to make it 59-54 and a few seconds later grabbed a key rebound on a purposely missed PPC free throw to end it. ▪ Jonas Duque, Miami St. Brendan basketball: the senior batted away a Northwestern pass, which was snagged by teammate Benny Fragela. He then retrieved the ball from Fragela and dribbled the length of the court to score what proved to be the winning basket as the visiting Sabres came-from-behind to upset top seed Miami Northwestern 70-69 to advance to a basketball region final for the first time in school history. Duque finished with a game-high 30 points including six 3-pointers. ▪ Angel Garcia, Miami True North baseball: the senior catcher caught a shutout (via three pitchers), drove in the winning run and threw out a runner trying to steal third to end the game on a strike-em out/throw-em-out double play as the visiting Titans upset nationally-ranked Parkland Stoneman Douglas 1-0. ▪ Naya Hardisson, Miami Southridge basketball: the sophomore scored a game-high 21 points, including five big points down the stretch as the Spartans (15-10) upset four-time defending state champ Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 52-49 in a Region 4-6A semifinal. ▪ Amanda Kerry, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons cheerleading: the senior and three-year letterwinner helped the Chiefs win their first national title at the UCA Championships in Large Varsity Non-Tumbling Division II at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Prior, they were second at the FHSSA state tournament in Class 1A Extra Large Non-Tumbling. ▪ Justice Lee, Marathon weightlifting: the junior won FHSAA state titles in Olympic and Traditional categories in Class 1A for the second consecutive season in Lakeland. She became the first dual state champion in Marathon High School history last season and repeated this season. ▪ Adaya Montalvo, Miami SLAM basketball: the senior scored 18 points to lift SLAM (15-12) over Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 75-52 in a Region 4-3A semifinal. ▪ Haylee St. Hilaire, Miami Doctors Charter weightlifting: the senior won an FHSAA state title in Class 1A in the Olympic category. She helped the Hawks place second at state, a school first. ▪ Nicholas Pineros, Miami Gulliver Prep soccer: the senior scored the first goal and assisted on the second as the Raiders (19-2-2) won the Region 4-3A title with a 2-0 victory over Davie NSU University School.
Miami Herald
22-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Flowers leads Northeast girls' basketball to win over Ely and first ever state tournament
For the first time in the history of Oakland Park Northeast High girls' basketball, which started in 1974, the Hurricanes made it to the state tournament. Led by senior guard Nykeria Flowers' 26 points, the Canes held on to defeat Blanche Ely 56-54 in the Region 4-5A final on Friday at a sold out gymnasium at Northeast High. The Hurricanes (28-2), winners of 12 consecutive games, will play Gainesville in their semifinal game on March 5 at 1 p.m. at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The final minute was frantic as Ely led 54-52 with 1:25 to play. Junior guard Jazmine Jones tied the score on a short jumper. The Hurricanes got the ball back on a rebound in which freshman Shanesha Johnson's layup was good for the final points of the game at 56-54. The two-point margin of victory was the smallest of the season having previously won four other games by single digits. 'Nykeria is the leader of our team,' Northeast coach Lawrence Hanna said. 'She told the girls at the half that the game isn't over. She went out after halftime and showed everybody. 'We're so happy for the opportunity to play at the state tournament. We're going to make the most of it. On our first day of practice, I told the girls we would be going to state. We planted that seed, and we let them see the benefits.' After years of struggling for victories, the 2024-25 Hurricanes' 28 wins equaled the total amount of wins through nine seasons ranging 1996-97 through 2006-07. Friday's win gave the Hurricanes their second win of the year over Ely. Their previous four losses to the Tigers from 2017-21, they were outscored 325-64. 'I'm so glad we did this in my senior year,' Flowers said. 'This season has been a blessing. 'We won the BCAA, the district and regional and now we're going to Lakeland. This feels great to have the opportunity to win a state title.' Flowers' aggressive moves to the basket were crucial for her team as she had 13 third-quarter points that helped tie the score to 44-44 entering the final quarter. A key element that helped determine the final margin of victory was the difference at the free throw line for both teams. The Hurricanes were 16 of 23 from the line with Flowers making 9 of her 10 attempts. The Tigers made 12 of 23 attempts. The differential helped determine the outcome of the game 'Our team fought through adversity but came up short down the stretch,' said first-year Ely coach James Green. 'Northeast is a good team and is well coached.' Jones and Brainna Lovett each scored 10 points to support Flowers' performance. The Tigers got 17 points from junior guard Teriyah McFadden and 12 more from Amari Johnson. Ely (17-8) was seeking to win the school's third state girls basketball championship.
Miami Herald
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Lourdes secures return to state over McCarthy; Heritage, Aquinas, Cypress Bay advance
With the bitter memory of a rare regional final loss a year ago on the very same field, the Lourdes Academy girls soccer team was not about to let history repeat itself on Wednesday night. The Bobcats, after suffering a 3-1 upset loss to St. Thomas Aquinas a year ago in the same round did not let it happen this time as they pulled out a 1-0 overtime win over Archbishop McCarthy in a Region 4-5A final at Columbus High School. Lourdes (15-1-3) is now headed back to the place its become quite accustomed to - the state final four. The Bobcats, who went to seven of them in an eight-year span from 2016-2023, will enter as the No. 1 seed and take on No. 4 Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek in a 5A state semifinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. 'Last year honestly was a shock for us but at the same time it was a reality check for us,' Lourdes coach David Fique said. 'As a program, we have now worked our way up to where you are expected to make it to state which is nice but it's a challenge to do it every year. The girls knew they were going to need to play well tonight to get this done because McCarthy is a tough opponent.. We're excited to be back at state.' The game-winner for Lourdes came off the foot of freshman Gianna Gray four minutes into the first 10 minute overtime period and then the Bobcats put on a brilliant display of possession keep-away on the Mavericks, limiting them to virtually not offensive chances the rest of the way. 'Everything happened so fast, it's still a blur for me right now,' said Gray, who had just gotten the water cooler bath from her teammates. 'What a moment to get a goal like that. I love my teammates and am so glad I was able to help them tonight.' Bobcat players suffered through a frustrating scoreless 80 minutes of regulation as they more or less dominated possession and scoring chances but simply could not get the ball past McCarthy freshman goalkeeper Mikaela Bishop who was brilliant in front of the net making numerous quality saves. 'We're not even playing in overtime if it wasn't for Mikaela,' said McCarthy coach Mike Sica bluntly. 'She was simply outstanding out on that field and kept us in the game.' Now the Bobcats will not head north hoping to capture another state title. Despite all the trips to state, winning it all has eluded them since 2020 when they won their second championship in a three-year span having also won it in 2018. 'We remembered what an empty feeling it was on this same field last year and have been determined all season long to right that wrong,' senior co-captain Mia Roca said. 'It took a lot out of us but we knew that we could do it because of how much of our team is not just a team but it's a family and I really felt that's what got us through tonight. Now it's time to go up there and bring the trophy home.' HERITAGE CHASING MULTIPLE TITLES American Heritage's quest for both its third consecutive state title and a national title rolled on with another lopsided win on Wednesday night. Led by a pair of goals and an assist from Sami Villaverde, the Patriots (17-1) cruised past Somerset Academy 4-0 on their home field in the Region 4-4A final. American Heritage advances to state for the third consecutive year and will take on Lemon Bay on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a Class 4A state semifinal at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. Senior Jordyn Norwood and freshman Mattie Hall also scored goals for Heritage, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps. Senior Courtney Caruso, freshman Mia Sommers and junior Allison Aleman each had an assist as well. Senior Jillian Miliffe recorded the shutout. Somerset Academy finishes 16-6. AQUINAS RETURNS TO STATE St. Thomas Aquinas is also ranked among the nation's best and continues to demonstrate why as it did during a 6-0 rout of Cooper City on its home field on Wednesday night in the Region 4-6A final. The Raiders (18-1-3), who are ranked No. 6 nationally by MaxPreps, advanced to the Class 6A semifinals to take on Bradenton Lakewood Ranch at 7 p.m. next Thursday at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. Aquinas owns the most state championships in state history with 15, but has not added to that total since 2017. The Raiders advanced to the state final four for the second consecutive season. Bianca Raskin led Aquinas with two first-half goals while Marisa Robinson and Brooklyn Burbridge each scored also in the first 40 minutes. Sophie Barnes and Madison McKeon each scored in the second half. Cooper City finishes the season 16-4-1. CYPRESS BAY AVENGES LOSS A year after having its streak of five consecutive trips to the state final four snapped by Douglas in the regional finals, Cypress Bay secured some payback with a 2-1 victory over the Eagles in Weston. The Lightning (17-1-1), ranked No. 8 nationally by MaxPreps, advanced to the Class 7A state semifinals as the top seed, and they will take on Jupiter on Monday night at 7 p.m. at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale. Douglas finishes the season 12-2-6.
Miami Herald
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
McCarthy girls soccer edges Pines Charter in regional semifinals; Cypress Bay advances
Two girls soccer rivals, as evenly matched as it gets and separated by only five miles, went at it again on Friday night. Like a couple of prize fighters in the ring, Pembroke Pines Charter and Archbishop McCarthy, meeting for the sixth consecutive year in the same round of the regional playoffs, went back and forth trying to land a punch. It was the Mavericks that finally landed it with a goal in the game's 56th minute that they made stand up, prevailing over Pines Charter 1-0 in a Region 4-5A semifinal at McCarthy High School. McCarthy advances to the Region 4-5A final on Wednesday where the No. 2 seed Mavericks (12-5-3) will travel to Miami-Dade to take on top-seeded Lourdes Academy at 7 p.m. at a site yet to be determined. The lone score came from sophomore reserve Gianna Vazquez, who had come into the game only two minutes earlier when teammate Mia Siplak went down injured. Vazquez took a pass and found herself in the middle of the field, 30 yards out from the goal. She turned on the ball and rocketed a shot toward the goal and Pines Charter goalkeeper Maddison Casanova. Casanova leaped up and got a piece of the ball trying to deflect it over the crossbar. But the ball deflected off her right hand and just under the crossbar with 24:07 left in regulation. It was only her fourth goal of the season. 'When I got the ball, I didn't really have much time to think about it,' Vazquez said. 'I didn't have any defenders around me so I just turned on the ball, opened up my hips, took a touch forward and let it go. I knew it would be close when it was on the way and fortunately it was just high enough to get over her (Casanova) hands and low enough to get under the crossbar.' The goal was big news. It marked the first time either team had scored a goal against the other over the previous 255 minutes of regulation and overtime play dating back to last year's district championship game. The two teams had since played scoreless overtime penalty kick games in their 2024 regional semifinal and their district championship game two weeks ago, Pines Charter winning both contests on PKs. 'Gianna is so valuable because she can play anywhere on the field,' McCarthy coach Mike Sica said. 'You can put her in the center, out wide, up top, very skillful and very versatile and she showed that out there tonight.' Sica then watched his defense limit the Jaguars (11-6) to just one true quality chance, and ratchet things up as Pines Charter never legitimately scared McCarthy keeper London Phoenix over those final 24 minutes. 'We lost our top two goal scorers to graduation last year so we've really been challenged offensively all season,' said Sica. 'As a result, it's been all about trying to play solid defense and we've managed to do that. Other than a loss to Jupiter, which scored twice, we haven't given up more than one goal in any game all season.' Asked about how even his and Pines Charter's programs are, (going into the game, the two teams had gone to overtime/penalty kicks seven of the previous nine meetings dating back to 2021), Sica could only grin. 'One of my parents mentioned to me during the week that they would be late getting to the game tonight but that they weren't worried because it always takes so long to finish our games,' Sica said. 'We really are two programs that kind of mirror each other. A lot of these girls went to middle school together and play club ball together. They got us last year, we got'em this year and back and forth it goes. I'm sure next year will probably be more of the same.' ▪ Region 4-5A semifinal - Lourdes 6, Stuart South Fork 0: Sienna Alves scored twice and Jessica Lee added two assists to lead the Bobcats (14-1-2). Veronica Aguilar had a goal and an assist. Antonella Monsalve, Gianna Gray and Valentina Kalka each had one goal. Nicole Lee, Mia Roca and Cecilia Martinez each had one assist. ▪ Region 4-7A semifinal - Cypress Bay 1, Palmetto 0: Daniela Duran scored the lone goal in the first half off an assist by Gaby Sussman to provide all the scoring the Lightning (16-1-1) would need to advance. Cypress Bay will next host Stoneman Douglas on Wednesday night in the regional finals. It will be the fifth consecutive season the two teams will meet in the postseason. The Eagles beat Cypress Bay last season in the regional final and the Lightning won the previous three. ▪ Region 4-4A semifinal - Somerset Academy 3, TERRA 0: Ella Provost-Heron scored two goals to lead the Panthers (16-5), who will next travel to Plantation to face top-seed American Heritage on Wednesday. Juliana Cortes also had a goal and an assist while Ericka Peck and Angelie Carrasco each had an assist. ▪ Region 4-4A semifinal - American Heritage 8, St. Brendan 0: Freshman Mattie Hall scored three goals and had an assist to lead the Patriots (16-1). Freshman Ariana Doles had two goals. Freshman Mia Sommers and seniors Courtney Caruso and Jordyn Norwood each had a goal and an assist. ▪ Region 4-3A quarterfinal - NSU University School d. Pine Crest (forfeit) MORE SCORES ▪ Region 4-7A - Douglas 2, Wellington 0; 4-6A: Cooper City 4, Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge 3; St. Thomas Aquinas 4, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 0;
