High School Soccer: Palm Beach Central mercy-rules COVID-bitten Palm Beach Lakes

In a one-sided affair, Palm Beach Central handed Palm Beach Lakes an 8-0 mercy-rule shut-out Friday night.

Given the circumstances, the lopsided result was expected. This Lakes team was making its season debut, having recently been put together in the wake of COVID-19’s omicron variant pressing students-athletes and their families into cautionary measures.

But it was still a welcome change for a Broncos squad that had struggled to retain its pre-winter-break rhythm and went home a winner on Senior Night.

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s match.

Palm Beach Central’s offense back to running on all cylinders

The Broncos offense scored a season-high eight goals, getting scoring efforts from virtually the entire roster.

Against a team without much time to gel, Central was dominant right out of the gate, scoring in the first few minutes to set the tone.

It wasn’t long before Luis Dominquez and the Broncos offense turned heads when he sent a header in for a score off of an intricate but clean build-up.

The ball came in from the right, was headed back across goal by Gabriel Gouveia, and then past the goalie for the score.

“We started from the back, we came from the midfield, got out wide, crossed it in,” Dominquez said. “Nice header in. It was a nice play. I called it out. I called, ‘header back in,’ they did just that, and it was a perfect ball.”

The scoring outburst was a nice change for a Broncos team that had scored just one goal across its previous two post-break contests. Even goalkeeper Sheamus Semco got in on the action, delivering from the penalty spot for his first goal of the season.

“This is definitely a big comeback,” Dominquez said. “We have a game against (Wellington) on Wednesday. That’s probably one of our most important games. This was a perfect way to end it. We played good soccer from the start to the end.”

Broncos get back on track after post-break slump

After outsourcing their first seven opponents by a 20-3 margin, the Central offense came out of the winter break surprisingly stagnant.

During the 2-1 loss to Glades Central and the 0-0 draw against Pahokee, it was a welcome change to be back at home for Senior Night with such a positive result from the offense on Friday.

“It was a perfect night tonight,” Central head coach Thomas Dawkins said. “The weather was amazing. The parents were extremely proud and happy. The kids played great on the field, and the outcome was wonderful.”

As a result, the Broncos squad was all smiles following the win, with seniors posing for photos taken by the flocking parents as teammates celebrated those in their last season of the program.

It was a testament to their brotherhood.

“This group obviously has some talent, but they’re also just so nice to be around. They’re wonderful kids. Respectful. If I had teams like this, I could coach till I’m 100 [years old],” Dawkins added with a laugh.

Friday was also about getting back to communication and playing as a unit.

“We just needed to get back to doing what we’ve been doing, what we should have been doing,” Dawkins said. “We played for ourselves when we came back from the Christmas break. We had a nice little heart to heart. Sometimes you learn more by a loss than you do a win. They got back tonight to really playing for each other.”

Palm Beach Lakes values time on field, regardless of result

For Lakes, the 2021-2022 soccer season got off to a very delayed start.

The roster was decimated by players leaving the team or not wanting to play because of the increasing COVID-19 cases.

“We had some enthusiasm about starting off the season, but things took a back-seat to vaccinations and all,” head coach J.M. Millien said.

But it’s better late than never for the Rams, who are treasuring time on the field, regardless of losses like Friday’s.

“This is late in the season for us and this is our first game," Millien said. "Obviously, we weren’t all that ready for the season. In fact, for about 15 minutes, we didn’t have a season. For me, it’s a miracle that we are here.”

They’ll face Park Vista, Forest Hill, and Royal Palm Beach before the season ends.

“We’re in demand,” he joked.

But it's all in good fun for the Rams – and that’s exactly what they’re playing for.

“We got on the field,” he said. “That was a victory.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Central Broncos defeat Palm Beach Lakes Rams in boys soccer