Coral Reef's dream season continues.After a win over South Dade,
followed by a major upset victory over Palmetto in the district
championship, the small, senior-less Barracudas continued to roll through
the postseason.
Their latest unexpected win came Thursday night, when they continued
their run with a 2-0 win over Ferguson during a Region 4-6A quarterfinal
at Southridge High.
After the game, Ferguson coach Richard Lopez -- who said the Barracudas
were a team his squad, which boasts 11 seniors, should have beaten --
called them ``the little engine that could.''
Coral Reef coach George Maysonet had a similar description.
''This is basically a team that doesn't really know any better,'' said
Maysonet, whose squad will now host Lourdes Academy in the regional
semifinals Tuesday.
``We're not a big team. We're not oversizing anybody -- as you can see,
we got pushed around pretty good -- but the fact is they understand each
other's roles, and they know how to play with each other.''
For further proof that Coral Reef (14-4-5) is on an unforeseen run, all
one had to do was take a look at how it scored its first goal.
In what was a tight game throughout, Michelle Gray hit a corner kick
and sailed it over the Ferguson defense. That's when Alixandria Fiore --
whose goal total this entire season can be counted on one hand -- came out
of nowhere and headed it in at the 65-minute mark.
Then, with one minute remaining, the Barracudas iced it when Courtney
Heuston somehow got around Kayla Batista, who was draped all over her, and
kicked it to the left side of Ferguson goalie Adriana Del Rosario.
But the Falcons (11-6-2) had their chances.
The biggest came at the 11-minute mark of the second half, when Coral
Reef goalie Brittany Castelle -- who had six saves in the shutout --
overpursued a lead pass and Michelle Pena had an empty net in front of her
but couldn't cash in.
Lopez said Pena was pushed back, and it should've been called a
penalty.
But that wasn't the reason his team lost the game.
''The only difference here was they wanted it more, and we fell to
their inferiority,'' Lopez said.
``We only beat ourselves in this one -- plain and simple.''
