HS Roundup: Golden Gate boys soccer edges Naples in districts after seeding drops due to forfeits
Don't see your team's score? Have your coach email us with game results, stat leaders, and a coach's quote to sports@news-press.com and sports@naplesnews.com.
A roundup of high school games played on Wednesday, Jan. 26:
Boys Soccer
Class 5A-District 13
Golden Gate 2, Naples 1
A small group of dejected Naples players on the bench postgame said it all about Wednesday night’s game.
Those players knew they were essentially in a must-win situation to advance to the postseason, with little room for mistakes. The Golden Eagles also had the chance to end Golden Gate’s ambitions of making it to the playoffs, after the team was forced to forfeit a dozen games due to a “clerical processing error.”
Despite a serious push in the second half, Naples (10-7-2) could not cash in on opportunities, falling 2-1 at Staver Field.
“The team responded well (after the situation),” Golden Gate coach Andy Hernandez said. “We just soaked up the pressure tonight and got some goals early, and we were to get out of here with a win and we’re moving on to the next game.
“We were pretty much prepared for it all season. We already knew that records didn’t matter at the end of the day, and it was unfortunate with the situation that happened. The guys know every game is a must-win game going forward, so we’ve got to practice (Thursday) and get ready for Friday.”
Golden Gate (5-13-0) got on the board first, as Jonathan Euceda got a shot past the Naples keeper in the 22nd minute. Just over eight minutes later, the Titans got an own goal from the Naples back line, which is what propelled them to a 1-0 victory midway through the season. That was one of the 12 games Golden Gate had to forfeit.
Naples coach Bob Prange made a switch in the second half, putting three attackers at the top, which gave the Titans numerous problems throughout the final 40 minutes. Five minutes into the second half, Alvin Nunez cut the deficit in half on a header, before Naples had close to 10 shots on goal after that.
“We put three on top and went at them,” Prange said. “We had a self-goal in the first half. In a match like this, you can’t do that. We put the pressure on them, we attacked, we got our goal, and you saw it, we could’ve probably had two, three, four more. They just didn’t go in.”
Hernandez lauded the ability of his defense as it fended off the Naples attack time and time again, despite the Golden Eagles having numerous quality chances. A missed handball call in the 18-yard box likely cost Naples the chance at a penalty kick to draw even midway through the second half.
“Our defense has been great all year,” Hernandez said. “We pride ourselves trying to get no goals scored on. It’s hard sometimes, but they did well. They cleared the ball when they had to. We did get those two goals early, which helped us out and turned the momentum. The defense has been phenomenal all year.”
The intensity and the tension really started to kick in during extra time, as a physical altercation broke out between the two teams. A Golden Gate player shoved a Naples player to the ground. The Titans' Osveli De Leon Vasquez was given a red card and is at a minimum suspended for the next two games.
Prange sounded off on Golden Gate forfeiting 12 games, as it likely cost other area schools, like Gulf Coast and Cape Coral, the top seeds in their respective districts. Entering the playoffs, Naples was the sixth seed in Class 5A-Region 4, but with Golden Gate now emerging as the favorites in the district, the Golden Eagles would be looking at the seventh seed, with Mourning and TERRA Environmental in striking distance to jump Naples.
“It’s kind of like a lot of things in life,” Prange said. “People who do the right things and work hard get punished, and the people who don’t sometimes get an advantage. We had six teams get negatively affected by this event. Gulf Coast, Barron Collier, Naples, Cape Coral, the list goes on. It’s very unfortunate.
“This to me was a state semi, or a state final. That was two excellent teams out on the field, and we’re going to sit and wait. We tied American Heritage, we beat Belen Jesuit, the top two seeds, so if the state does the right thing, we should move on. Do I have my hopes up? Not so much.”
Golden Gate will advance to take on Barron Collier in the semifinals, while Naples will wait approximately 10 days to know its postseason fate.
— Alex Martin
Estero 2, South Fort Myers 2 (5-4 in PKs): The Wildcats found a way to move on to the second round, coming through with five made penalty kicks after the two teams were tied in extra time.
Lely 8, Cypress Lake 0: Alesandro Sarasini netted a hat trick for the Trojans, while Johnathan Garcia dished out five assists. Oscar Perez scored twice, while Emiliano Nicasio, Braulio Garcia, and Mauricio Hernandez all scored once.
Barron Collier 4, East Lee County 0: Emerson LaOrden scored two goals and an assist, while Oscar LaOrden and Alex Bulai-Tudor scored once. Robbie Hunter, Brandon Carmona, and Bulai-Tudor all had one assist.
Girls Soccer
Fort Myers 5, Palmetto Ridge 0: The Greenies had four different players score in the Class 6A-District 12 semifinal, led by Karlee Schmid’s two goals. Laney Attuso, Lucy Bailey, and Giana D’Altrui all scored once. D’Altrui assisted on two goals, while Bailey and Samantha Degen both had one assist.
Riverdale 12, Immokalee 0: The Raiders had no issues against Immokalee, as Bailey Trosterud finished with four goals and two assists. Six other players found the back of the net for Riverdale, who will face Fort Myers in the district championship game next Tuesday.
Marco Island 2, Seacrest Country Day 1: In the loss for the Stingrays, Brooke Shefsky scored.
Gulf Coast 8, Lehigh 0: No stats provided.
Gateway 4, Gateway Charter 0: No stats provided.
LaBelle 6, Clewiston 0: No stats provided.
Sarasota Riverview 3, North Port 1: No stats provided
Port Charlotte 4, Island Coast 0: No stats provided
Girls Basketball
Oasis 37, Gateway Charter 33: The Sharks stunned the Griffins, as Gabby Goldberg, Emma Osinski, and Brynn Stambaugh combined for 30 of the team's 37 points.
Mariner 68, Canterbury 48: In the loss for the Cougars, Kaya Langford scored 27, while Ellie Miller added 10 points.
Barron Collier 37, Bishop Verot 30: The Cougars edged out the Vikings in a closer-than-anticipated matchup.
District Schedules
Boys Soccer
Class 7A-District 8
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Sarasota at (4) Venice
(6) Lehigh at (3) North Port
Tuesday, Feb. 1 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Venice/Sarasota winner at (1) Sarasota Riverview
North Port/Lehigh winner at (2) Gulf Coast
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 6A-District 12
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(4) Palmetto Ridge at (1) Fort Myers
(3) Immokalee at (2) Riverdale
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 12
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Dunbar at (4) Ida Baker
(6) North Fort Myers at (3) Mariner
Tuesday, Feb. 1 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Ida Baker/Dunbar winner at (1) Charlotte
Mariner/North Fort Myers winner at (2) Cape Coral
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 13
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(4) Estero at (1) Lely
(7) Golden Gate at (3) Barron Collier
Tuesday, Feb. 1
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 4A-District 12
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Island Coast at (4) Bonita Springs
(6) Port Charlotte at (3) Clewiston
Tuesday, Feb. 1 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Bonita Springs/Island Coast winner at (1) LaBelle
Clewiston/Port Charlotte winner at (2) Lemon Bay
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 10
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 6 p.m.)
(5) Gateway Charter at (4) Gateway
Saturday, Jan. 29 (all games at 6 p.m.)
Gateway/Gateway Charter winner at (1) Bishop Verot
(3) Oasis at (2) Community School
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 11
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Community Christian at (4) Evangelical Christian
Monday, Jan. 31 (all games at 6 p.m.)
ECS/Community Christian winner at (1) Canterbury
(3) Out-of-Door at (2) SFCA
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 12
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 6 p.m.)
(4) Seacrest Country Day at (1) Marco Island
(3) St. John Neumann at (2) Donahue Catholic
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Class 7A-District 8
Wednesday, Jan. 26 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(4) Sarasota Riverview at (1) Venice
(3) Gulf Coast at (2) Sarasota
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 6A-District 12
Tuesday, Feb. 1
(2) Fort Myers at (1) Riverdale 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 12
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Charlotte at (4) Ida Baker
(6) Dunbar at (3) Cape Coral
Monday, Jan. 31 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Charlotte/Ida Baker winner at (1) North Fort Myers
Cape Coral/Dunbar winner at (2) Mariner
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 13
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(5) Cypress Lake at (4) Lely
(6) Golden Gate at (3) Barron Collier
(7) East Lee County at (2) Estero
(8) South Fort Myers at (1) Naples
Monday, Jan. 31 (all games at 7 p.m.)
Lely/Cypress Lake winner vs. Naples/South Fort Myers winner
Estero/East Lee County winner vs. Barron Collier/Golden Gate winner
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 4A-District 12
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 7 p.m.)
(4) Port Charlotte at (1) Lemon Bay
(3) LaBelle at (2) Bonita Springs
Wednesday, Feb. 2
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 10
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 6 p.m.)
(4) Gateway at (1) Bishop Verot
(3) Community School at (2) Oasis
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 11
Thursday, Jan. 27 (all games at 6 p.m.)
(5) SFCA at (4) Canterbury
Monday, Jan. 31 (all games at 6 p.m.)
Canterbury/SFCA winner at (1) Imagine School at North Port
(3) Out-of-Door at (2) Evangelical Christian
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 12
Friday, Jan. 28 (all games at 6 p.m.)
(4) Marco Island Academy at (1) First Baptist
(3) Donahue Catholic at (2) St. John Neumann
Thursday, Feb. 3
District Championship, 7 p.m.
Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Golden Gate, Naples players involved in physical altercation; red card given
