SWFL 2023 boys soccer district final soccer match roundup and photos
Here is a summary of the 2023 Southwest Florida Men’s Soccer District Championship games played on Wednesday. It will be updated on Thursday as more matches are played.
Class 6A-District 12Fort Myers 2, Immokalee 0
Chants of “five rounds” rang out at Edison Stadium to celebrate the Fort Myers Boys’ Football Team’s latest triumph.
Despite securing five consecutive district titles – this one achieved with a second-half push to Immokalee – the Greenies are far from satisfied.
“Five in a row is good,” Fort Myers head coach Chris Reid said. ” That’s really nice. I mean, this group of guys, since they were freshmen, we talked about how far they can go, and they showed it.
The game was a rematch of last year’s district title game – a competitive battle that was won by Fort Myers on penalties. The first half of this contest looked just as fiery, but ultimately the Greenies made their call.
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“We knew we would wear them down eventually, and that’s what happened,” Reid said. “We exhausted them and just took matters into our own hands.”
It was two second-half set pieces – the first a Ricardo Louis free-kick deflected by teammate Marvin Vidal-Torres into the goal.
A first-half yellow card limited Trent Britton’s playing time, but he made the most of his playing action, sending a ball into the goal from a Pierre Jean corner to extend the lead to 2- 0.
“That’s the majority of what we do,” Fort Myers team captain Mike Krzeminski said. “We come here, we train, we train hard, we go over set pieces, we go over set pieces, what we need to win, and that’s what came out in this game this evening. That’s why we won.
Britton reacted to his goal with a synchronized backflip with Louis, a celebration that has become a tradition.
The Fort Myers defense focused on overpowering Immokalee’s most explosive player, Job Chute, and succeeded. Elliot DeCosta was notably responsible for guarding Chute.
“He stayed on top of him and he did a great job of locking him down,” Reid said. “He didn’t fire many shots and when he did it was fine on the outside, so he didn’t do much damage to us.”
The Green Wave team is filled with seniors, which makes this post-season special.
“We’re not done,” Britton said. “Five more games and we’ll have a ring – what we’ve been working for for four years.”
There is no doubt that this group is more determined than ever to break through.
“We’ve been knocking on the door for a while now, and this team, if they stick together and play hard, I honestly think they can go all the way,” Reid said.
− Dust tax
CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 11Mariner 3, Cape Coral 0
Watch highlights from the Mariner Boys’ win over Cape Coral for the 5A-11 title
The Mariner Boys Soccer Team defeated Cape Coral 3-0 to win the District 5A-11 Championship on Wednesday February 1, 2023.
Dan DeLuca, Fort Myers News Press
Mariner Boys football coach Martin Cardenas preaches a simple philosophy to his players: be better than you were yesterday.
In Thursday’s 5A-11 Championship against visiting Cape Coral, the Tritons were very good, showcasing an opportunistic offense and stifling defense in a 3-0 victory that earned them their sixth consecutive district title.
The Tritons (10-7-5) took an early lead on senior striker Marcel Tovar’s goal after just seven minutes. It proved all the scoring Mariner would need as his defense, anchored by the senior Gabriel Chica and junior sweeper Samuel Bedoya, put down Cape Coral’s offensive attack, which failed to generate much pressure on Tritons goalie Jacob Glover.
“That’s all we ask of these guys, if you can give us some goals, we think our defense can hold off most teams,” Cardenas said. “I think Gabe Chica and Sammy did a great job in the back just neutralizing their guys.”
Junior forward Lucas Tarra made it 2-0 in the 21st minute when he grabbed a rebound on a Tovar shot that Seahawks goaltender Erwin Quintanilla dived and deflected. Junior midfielder Maximo Gorosito closed the scoring in the 53rd minute, deflecting a cross from junior striker Frank Garcia past Quintanilla.
Cardenas said Mariner, who qualified for the regional final last season, is currently playing his best football of the season.
“Our focus is the same thing we’ve been preaching all year,” he said. “We played well today; hopefully the next game we play will be even better.
-Dan DeLuca