Orangewood boys reach soccer state final; 7 others play for region titles
Orangewood Christian netted a late goal Tuesday to qualify for the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A boys soccer state championship game in Auburndale.
Zane Henriques took a feed from a teammate down the middle of the field, settled the ball atop the 18-yard box, then placed it into the right corner as the goalkeeper approached to secure a 2-1 win vs. Scheck Hillel (North Miami Beach).
The No. 3 seed Rams (16-3-1) play the winner of No. 1 Tampa Carrollwood Day (16-2-1) and No. 4 St. Augustine St. Joseph (9-8-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Lake Myrtle Sports Park.
The FHSAA soccer state tournament for teams in 4A, 3A and 2A take place through Saturday. Admission is $11 in advance and $14 on day of game through the GoFan website.
All games are streaming online for a fee at NFHSNetwork.com.
Montverde Academy girls (16-4-1) play Gainesville P.K. Yonge (16-3-3) in a Wednesday semifinal at 1 p.m. Bishop Moore boys and girls play in 4A semifinals Thursday.
Scheck Hillel (12-4-1) struck first for a 1-0 advantage just three minutes into the second half. The goal came after the Lions dominated possession in the opening 40 minutes.
The tables turned for Orangewood when Jace Henriques scored for the 11th time this season on a penalty kick that tied the match with 25 minutes remaining.
Orangewood remained the aggressor the rest of the way. Scheck Hillel was unsuccessful on a pair of quality looks on goal inside the final 13 minutes.
The game was a rematch of a 2016 state final won by Scheck Hillel on penalty kicks. The Lions reached the semifinals in 2022 and region finals in ’23.
Orangewood, which was playing in a state semifinal for the ninth time since ’07, won its only state championship in ’15.
Regional finals
Five boys teams and two girls teams in Class 7A, 6A and 5A represent the Orlando area in FHSAA regional soccer championship games Wednesday.
Windermere High hosts Cypress Creek at Scott Pine Community Park in the only locally scheduled contest.
Tickets for regional games are $9.
The Wolverines, ranked No. 4 in 7A by MaxPreps computers, defeated Cypress Creek 4-1 in last year’s district final.
Jeisson Aparicio, Otto Amesty and Luis Ocque each scored a goal for the Bears during a 3-1 win Monday vs. Palm Harbor University (13-7-0). Ocque also had an assist.
West Orange and Celebration are on the road in other 7A regional finals.
Celebration needed penalty kicks to advance past Boca Raton Olympic Heights (12-8-4) last week.
Horizon’s boys and girls teams are on the road for 5A finals.
Claudia Rodriguez Medina and Grace Nichols scored goals in the second half during a 2-1 girls win Friday at No. 1 seed Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek (16-2-2).
Oviedo girls face a top-seeded Viera squad they beat 8-1 in the region semifinal round in 2023.
Undefeated seasons ended on the road in the second round for Lake Mary (15-1-4) and Hagerty (14-1-3). The Rams fell 3-2 at Creekside. Hagerty lost 2-0 at Bartram Trail.
Wednesday’s regional final pairings:
Boys 7A Region 1
No. 3 West Orange (12-4-1) at No. 1 Jacksonville Mandarin (19-0-2)
Boys 7A Region 2
No. 4 Cypress Creek (14-3-3) at No. 2 Windermere High (15-1-1)
Boys 7A Region 3
No. 2 Celebration (11-2-2) at No. 1 Boca Raton (21-0-2)
Boys 5A Region 2
No. 2 Horizon (13-3-4) at No. 1 Tampa Jesuit (19-1-4)
Girls 6A Region 2
No. 2 Oviedo (14-1-3) at No. 1 Viera (15-1-1)
Girls 5A Region 2
No. 4 Horizon (14-3-1) at No. 3 Daytona Beach Seabreeze (12-6-1)
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
