The Seminole High boys and the Lake Mary girls won Regional Championship Games Tuesday night and have advanced to the State Final 4 in DeLand.
The Fighting Seminoles (12-5-4) and host West Orange (14-5-2) were tied at 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods, but it was the Tribe outscoring the top-seeded Warriors, 4-2, in Penalty Kicks to secure their trip to the State Semifinals last Tuesday night.
The Rams (19-2-1) cruised to a 3-0 whitewashing of Creekside (12-3-3) at Don T. Reynolds Stadium and will also play in a State Semifinal last Tuesday.
The Class 4A-thru-7A State Tournament is being played at Spec Martin Stadium and in the Girls Class 7A Semifinals on Tuesday, Cypress Bay edged Newsome, 3-2, and Lake Mary exploded for five second half goals in whitewashing Jupiter, 5-0. The Boys Class 7A Semifinals had Columbus besting Windermere, 4-1, and Palm Harbor University tripping Seminole, 3-1.
The Girls Class 7A Championship Game today (Wednesday) will have Lake Mary and Cypress Bay facing off in the finale for the second straight year at 4 p.m.
Things did not go as well for two other local squads as the Orangewood Christian boys saw their season end at the hands of top-seeded Pine High School, 2-0, in the Class 1A-Region 2 Championship Game on Friday, February 13, and the Oviedo girls were nipped, 2-1 by Viera in the Class 6A-Region 2 final last Tuesday night.
Seminole High goalkeeper Nate Farrow dove to his left and blocked a penalty kick, just as he had twice earlier in the match, but this time the save sent the visiting Fighting Seminoles to the FHSAA 7A State Semifinals at West Orange High School in Winter Garden.
Both squads had scored in the second half of regulation, the Noles getting a goal from junior Konstantino Brown on an assist from fellow junior Noah Villalard.
Gabriel Heuval opened the shootout for the Tribe by converting the first penalty. Farrow then stopped West Orange’s attempt, and captain Preston St. Louis followed with a goal to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.
The Warriors converted on their next kick, and the teams traded goals from there, including goals by Seminoles’ Villalard and Youseff Faid.
Then Farrow delivered again, making the decisive save to seal the victory.
“He’s been my No. 1 goalkeeper since day one,” Seminole coach Frank Cipolla said after the contest. “He came up huge for us. Noah (Villalard) came up big, Gabe (Heuval) played a great game, and our defense was unbelievable.”
The defending state champion Lake Mary girls earned the right to defend their crown at home, taking a 1-0 halftime lead and then tacking on a pair of insurance scores in the second half.
Senior Ava McKay led the Rams with a goal and an assist, while senior Natalie Rowen and junior Teagan Jahns netted one goal each, while junior Kailey Susi and sophomore Siena Sigurdsson added one assist each to back the outstanding goaltending by freshman Lily Ellis, who made five stops between the pipes.
Here are the results for the Regionals and Schedule for State Final 4:
BOYS REGIONALS
Class 7A-Region 1
Semifinals
Thursday, February 12
Game 5 _ West Orange 3, Lake Mary 2.
Game 6 _ Seminole 1, Creekside 1.
Finals
Tuesday, February 17
Championship _ Seminole 1, West Orange 1 (SHS won 4-2 in Penalty Kicks).
Class 6A-Region 2
Semifinals
Thursday, February 12
Game 5 _ Viera 4, Oviedo 3 (double overtime).
Game 6 _ Sunlake 2, Melbourne 1.
Class 2A-Region 2
Semifinals
Tuesday, February 10
Game 5 _ Holy Trinity Episcopal 5, Benjamin 2.
Game 6 _ King’s Academy 4,The Master’s Academy 1.
Class 1A-Region 2
Semifinals
Tuesday, February 10
Game 5 _ Pine High School 7, Seffner Christian 0.
Game 6 _ Orangewood Christian 2, Sports Leadership & Management 0.
Finals
Friday, February 13
Championship _ Pine High School 2, Orangewood Christian 0.
GIRLS REGIONALS
Class 7A-Region 1
Semifinals
Wednesday, February 11
Game 5 _ Creekside 2, Winter Park 0.
Game 6 _ Lake Mary 7, Timber Creek 0.
Finals
Tuesday, February 17
Championship _ Lake Mary 3, Creekside 0.
Class 6A-Region 2
Semifinals
Wednesday, February 11
Game 5 _ Oviedo 3, Sunlake 2.
Game 6 _ Viera 3, Steinbrenner 0.
Finals
Tuesday, February 17
Championship _ Viera 2, Oviedo 1.
State Final 4
at Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand
Class 7A Semifinals
Tuesday, February 24
GIRLS
10 a.m. _ Cypress Bay 3, Newsome 2.
1 p.m. _ Lake Mary 5, Jupiter 0.
BOYS
4 p.m. _ Columbus 4, Windermere 1.
7 p.m. _ Palm Bay University 3, Seminole 1.
Finals
Wednesday, February 25
4 p.m. _ Girls, Lake Mary vs. Cypress Bay.
7 p.m. _ Boys, Columbus vs. Palm By University.
