Playoff soccer: American Heritage girls capture fourth straight region championship
DELRAY BEACH — It's familiar territory for American Heritage-Delray girls soccer.
For the fourth straight season, the Stallions (10-1-3) are headed to the state semifinals after defeating Cardinal Gibbons 2-0 in Wednesday's regional final.
American Heritage found goals with a 65th-minute penalty from Cici Viera and later on, a top-shelf strike that Bella Larriu curled into the top-right corner.
“Every single game is a final,” head coach Julian Slotty said. “The other teams are all very good, very well coached. And every game can be a nail-biter like today. They took everything out of us today and I think we got a little bit lucky in the end.”
Slotty called Wednesday's test the toughest yet on their trip back to the state semifinals, and the game's most important moment came when Viera was able to convert a penalty after missing one in the quarterfinals.
“I definitely think it was an important goal because it shifted the game,” Viera said. “It was really important for me because just because I'd missed previously.”
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The contact came when a defender dragged down Isabella Larriu by the ankle in the box, resulting in a quick point to the spot from the referee.
The win is at once déjà vu and new territory for Heritage.
The Stallions have won the regional championship the past three seasons and are no strangers to the game's biggest stage at the state level.
However, the road has been unique this season in that a much less experienced group of Stallions has battled adversity after losing the district title game to Somerset Canyons.
“I think we've overcome more obstacles now than we have in any other year,” said Larriu, who is playing her fifth and final year with the Stallions.
“I think we're the major underdog this year. I think being a senior and knowing it's my last year, I really just want to put my heart out and put literally everything I have out on the field.”
Heritage lost to Bishop Moore 1-0 in last year’s state championship. The year before, they lost to the same squad 4-2. Lakeland Christian bested the Stallions by a 4-2 margin the year before that.
This year, though, feels different, even if the numbers on paper don’t say it is. As Slotty says, whether home or away, teams have to win the games they're handed to advance.
“We’re happy,” Slotty said. We’re celebrating the win. And then we focus on hopefully two more games next week. The road has been a little harder, but you have to win every game anyway so that really doesn’t change.”
This year's state semifinal will take place against Bishop McLaughlin Catholic on Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale.
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.
More playoff soccer results
Boys region final
Holy Trinity Episcopal 5, Oxbridge Academy 1
Girls region final
Edgewood 2, King’s Academy 0
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: American Heritage girls soccer wins fourth straight region title
