Host Cypress Bay twice battled back from one-goal deficits and finished with five unanswered scores to top Dr. Krop 7-3 in a Class 7A girls regional quarterfinal at Weston Regional Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Junior midfielder Barbara Garcia led the charge with three goals and two assists and sent the Lightning to the regional semifinal, where they will host Gulf Coast on Friday at 6 p.m..
Cypress Bay, which fell in the state final last year to Bartram Trail, also got two goals each from seniors Camila Jimenez and Megan Morgan. Morgan, fellow seniors Tessa Alexander and Nati Matamoros and sophomores Nati Ballinas and Mia Erceg also had assists.
The three goals on Tuesday were the most allowed in the postseason since last year’s final.
Dr. Krop (9-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on a goal by junior Mai-Lisa Atis. Cypress Bay answered 10 minutes later on Morgan’s first goal. The score held until Jimenez was able to slide a goal past Dr. Krop sophomore keeper Paula Canonico just seconds before the end of the first half for a short-lived 2-1 lead.
Dr. Krop equalized just six seconds into the second half on an Atis shot from 15 yards out and took the lead at 3-2 in the 48th minute on a goal by freshman Sagine Atis.
Cypress Bay wasted little time in equalizing when Garcia found Morgan running free and she deposited her goal over the outstretched hands of Canonico. Three minutes later Garcia put the Lightning ahead for good with a 25-yard blast, followed three more tallies.
“This is really important for us because we are not going home with the loss,” Garcia said. “When it was tied, I couldn’t let down my team. I had to keep fighting. We haven’t had a lot of games this season [because of COVID], so every game is important.”
Cypress Bay coach Kate Dwyer said they got all they could handle from Dr. Krop.
“Barbie is the workhorse of the team,” Dwyer said. “We haven’t had enough games this year to practice. I’m glad it happened now. With COVID, it has been hard. They spend all day online at home and then they come to school.
“This is an eye-opener and Dr. Krop took it to us,” Dwyer added. “It showed that we didn’t get rattled. We got frustrated and we held on. Barbie was wide open the majority of the time. They were trying to pack it in and when she shot from the outside, it drew them out and it opened other things for us. When she turned it on, the girls fed off of her.”
Regional quarterfinals
7A
Dwyer 7, Wellington 2
Vero Beach at Palm Beach Central, ppd. Wed. 7 p.m.
Boca Raton 4 Coral Glades 0
Stoneman Douglas 3, Park Vista 1
Cypress Bay 7, Dr. Krop 3
Gulf Coast 2, West Broward 1
6A
West Boca Raton 3, Cooper City 1
Olympic Heights at St. Thomas Aquinas, ppd. Wed. 6 p.m.
5A
Suncoast 6, Heritage (Palm Bay) 0
Archbishop McCarthy 10, Westland Hialeah 0
Pembroke Pines Charter 0, TERRA Environmental 0, suspended resumes 4 p.m. Wednesday
4A
American Heritage 2, North Broward Prep 0
Cardinal Gibbons 4, Jensen Beach 0
3A
Benjamin 1, Coral Springs Charter 0
American Heritage-Delray 2, Oxbridge 0
Pine Crest 8, Sports Leadership & Management 0
Miami Country Day 8, Calvary Christian Academy 2
2A
Berean Christian 2, South Florida HEAT 1
Westminster Academy 1, Lake Worth Christian 0 (forfeit)
Carrollwood 4, Jupiter Christian 0
Girls soccer regional semifinals
Friday
7A
Dwyer winner vs. Vero Beach, Palm Beach Central winner, 7
Boca Raton vs. Stoneman Douglas, 7
Gulf Coast vs. Cypress Bay, 6
6A
West Boca Raton vs. Olympic Heights/St. Thomas Aquinas winner, 7
5A
Bayside vs. Suncoast, 7
Archbishop McCarthy vs. Pembroke Pines Charter, TERRA Environmental winner, 7
4A
American Heritage vs. Cardinal Gibbons, 7
3A
Benjamin vs. American Heritage-Delray, 7
Pine Crest vs. Miami Country Day, 7
2A
Berean Christian vs. Westminster Academy, 7
