Downtown Doral Academy got first-half goals from senior forwards Victor Villalobos and Edgar Mata, and cruised past Somerset Canyons 5-0 to capture the 3A state title.
Villalobos scored in the eighth minute, and Mata doubled the lead in the 30th minute for the state’s top-ranked 3A boys team. The Dolphins (19-1-3), also ranked second in the country, according to MaxPreps, rolled to the title at Lake Myrtle Sport Complex in Auburndale on Saturday afternoon.
Villalobos made it 3-0 in the 50th minute with his second goal, and senior midfielder Santiago Ramos tallied in the 64th minute — both long-range goals from 25 yards out. Junior defender Rodrigo Perez added another for good measure just two minutes later.
“They were as good as I thought they were going to be and even better in person,” said Somerset Canyons coach Eric De Sousa, whose team finished with a school-best mark of 16-3-2 and was playing in its first state final. “Obviously, it is bittersweet. I’m so proud of what we accomplished, and there is history for the badge and the school.”
De Sousa said they had to switch tactics pretty early after the first goal.
“We gave up an early goal off a tactical mistake, and then I thought we did pretty well before they scored goals we could do nothing about,” he added. “I know we can stick with them, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way. They are number two in the nation for a reason.”
The Cougars made the most of their state tournament debut as they picked up a 3-0 win over Alachua Santa Fe in the state semifinals. Junior midfielder Juan Casallas played a huge role in the semifinals with a goal and an assist in sending the state’s second-ranked 3A squad to the finals.
Gabriel Abadia scored in the 47th minute off a header from Giovanni Sanchez to give the Cougars the only goal it needed. In the 65th minute, Denali Swift got on the end of a pass from Casallas and scored in the lower left-hand corner. Casallas closed out the scoring with a penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining.
Casallas said the team has been his family after moving to the United States and living with a host family.
“I am so happy to enjoy that moment with them,” Casallas continued. “America is really different than in Colombia, but it has been unique, and this is my first time playing in something like this.”
Cougars sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Rios needed to make one save, but it was a key one, coming just 15 minutes in with the match scoreless. He also knocked away a cross that was headed to a player on the far post.
“We planned to play assertively, controlling possession and attacking wide flanks, to take the game to them,” De Sousa said. “We wanted to control possession, hit them wide, and activate our press. We had chances, but we didn’t put them away early. At halftime, we adjusted our formation to add midfielders, and that seemed to work.”
“The first goal off the set piece was key because we spend a lot of time in training working on them,” De Sousa added. “They (set pieces) have been a weapon for us all year. After the first goal, we settled into our own skin and played our game.”
Somerset Canyons was the second-ranked team in 3A. They had won four straight since dropping the district title to last year’s state champion, American Heritage-Delray, 2-1. They avenged that setback in the regional final, winning 3-2 (6-5 PKs).
The Somerset Canyons boys joined the Somerset girls soccer team, who won last year’s state title, along with the girls basketball and girls flag football teams, as the only teams in school history to reach the state.
