Plant City boys soccer made their way to Newsome on Thursday where they faced the Wolves in the the 7A District 6 championship.
The matchup between the Raiders and the Wolves was their second meeting of the season, following a game on Dec. 22 where Newsome raced out to a 6-0 win, handing Plant City one of their three regular season losses on the year. In the championship, Newsome once again came away with a win, this time via a 6-1 final, to spell an end to the Raiders’ season.
Plant City opened the scoring in an instant as forward Angel Guerra found an opening at the top of the box and finished the opportunity to give the Raiders a quick 1-0 lead in the first minute of the contest, but from that point on the Wolves took control of the match. In the fifth minute, Newsome answered back as a ball sent into the box was redirected on goal, initially stopped with a stellar save from Plant City’s charging keeper Francisco Miranda, only for the Wolves to quickly jump on the rebound and bury the second-chance opportunity, knotting the contest at 1-1.
A series of strong saves from Miranda throughout the remainder of the first half kept Plant City in the contest, but with just minutes remaining before halftime the Wolves added onto their lead. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Newsome settled a loose ball at the top of the box and put the chance away to take a 2-1 lead, earning a penalty kick moments later that was converted to give the Wolves a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.
Newsome began the second half strong, with chance after chance thwarted by Plant City. With more spectacular play from Miranda, along with some luck as a Newsome shot rattled off of the post, the game remained 3-1 for much of the second half. In the 56th minute Newsome broke through the Raiders’ back line with a beautiful run into the box, but the chance was once again stonewalled as Miranda charged the Wolves’ forward and made the save with a diving stop. A few minutes later the Raiders responded with a chance of their own, looking to claw back into the contest late as they controlled possession into the offensive third and led a run into the Wolves’ 18-yard box with the ball at the foot of senior Simon Gonzalez. Gonzalez created space, dropped the ball off to Jose Hernandez at the top of the box and Hernandez let a shot rip from the top of the box, only for the shot to be sent away on a diving save from Newsome’s keeper. But as quickly as Plant City saw their scoring chance fall apart, the Wolves responded with a counter attack up the left side, crossed into the box at the back post, settled and finished by Newsome forward Stephen Gilbert to give the Wolves a 4-1 lead.
As the Raiders pressed forward hoping for a miracle to keep their district championship hopes alive, the Wolves were able to stand tall against the offensive pressure and counter for two late goals to seal the 6-1 contest. Despite finishing the year with a 16-4-1 record overall, the Raiders were not able to secure a wildcard berth in the regional quarterfinals.
But this season was a massive improvement for the Raiders in comparison to their 2021-2022 campaign in which they finished the year with a 6-12-1 record, matching their highest single-season win total since going 19-1 in an undefeated regular season run in 2017-2019 and once again reaching their district championship after claiming their last district title in 2020-2021.
Across town, Durant’s girls were the only other Plant City area team to reach their district championship match, also facing Newsome. Durant had previously faced Newsome twice in the regular season, splitting the series with a 3-1 win over the Wolves on Dec. 9 and ending their regular season with a 2-1 loss against them on Jan. 19. In the district championship last Wednesday, Durant fell to Newsome by a final score of 3-1, with their lone goal coming from junior Kassidy Oliver. And with a 15-4 record on the year, Durant advanced to the regional quarterfinals on Tuesday as a fifth seed, despite a loss in the district championship, where they would once again make their way to Newsome on Tuesay for their fourth matchup of the year, falling by a final score of 3-2 to end their season at 15-5.