Playoff soccer: Boca Raton boys defy the odds with epic comeback to reach state final
DELAND — “Vamos, vamos, vamos!”
The shouts of “let's go” rang throughout the night as Boca Raton soccer players swarmed the pitch, having just completed the most improbable comeback of the year.
Down two men for a full 30 minutes, Boca Raton fought from a goal down in extra time to force a penalty shootout, winning in sudden death 3-3 (5-4) to advance to the 7A state championship.
Boca Raton has won three state championships under head coach Marcelo Castillo, most recently in 2020. They'll look to add a fourth, this time with an undefeated record, against West Orange in the final on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Thursday's semifinal featured joy, exhaustion, disbelief and triumph in a poetic comeback.
How they got here: Boca Raton boys take region title with redemption win over Celebration
As the rain cascaded down on the pitch Thursday, the Bobcats (23-0-2) weathered both the elements and Windermere’s relentless momentum swing after a 2-0 Boca Raton lead evaporated.
What was once a match well in hand became a dogfight and the Bobcats' mission was simple: survive and make it to a penalty shootout.
“We were playing downhill and then we were playing uphill," Castillo said. “Suddenly, we were in a game. We go down to 10 men, I knew we were in trouble. We go down to nine men, I knew we were in more trouble . . . . But once we got to PKs, you’re not beating us with Carmine (Ricciardi) in between the pipes.”
Castillo is a firm believer that an element of fortune exists in soccer. It went both ways at different moments on Thursday night.
“This game is all about luck,” he said. “They had a lot of luck in the cards that we got and us going down to nine. And the soccer karma gods always kind of balance things out. Sure enough, they had a mental mistake because they’re just as tired as we are, and we got a penalty.”
The mistake was a dead ball foul in which the Windermere keeper illegally touched the ball in his own box. Up 3-2 in the second period of extra time, it gifted the Bobcats a penalty kick.
At that moment, the Boca Raton bench was a picture of sudden hope. Some knelt, presumably in prayer. Some couldn’t bear to watch. Others clung to teammates as if they could will teammate Rafael Azevedo’s subsequent penalty to be converted.
“God gave us a chance to come back in the game,” Azevedo said. “We gave our life. That was God.”
Boca’s original regulation lead was staked by goals from Bryan Silva and Martin Arredondo, which were then canceled out by Windermere converting a penalty kick and a free kick in a dangerous position.
The comeback was finalized by a sudden-death penalty miss by Windermere after the two teams went toe-to-toe in the five sets of kicks from the spot.
“It means everything,” junior goalkeeper Ricciardi said. “We’re so glad to be here. Obviously, nothing is given and we had to take it tonight. We weren't losing tonight.”
“We’re not finished yet,” Hayden Mersereau said. “And we’re coming for that ring.”
Boys 7A state soccer final
Saturday, 7 p.m., Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand
Boca Raton (23-0-2) vs. West Orange (14-4-1)
Streaming: NFHSnetwork.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton soccer completes epic comeback to reach 7A state title game
