- November 23, 2024
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Boys soccer become the latest Matanzas sports program to make history. Photo by John Verdi
Adrian Lopes practices dribbling routines before the team goes into a passing drill. Photo by Jeff Dawsey
What’s better than avenging a region semifinal loss to the district juggernaut? The Pirates (17-3-3) say beating said juggernaut to win its program’s first district championship.
The Ponte Vedra Sharks have not only owned Matanzas throughout its history. The Pirates, however sought to put a stop to their one-sided rivalry with a 2-2 tie earlier in the season at Ponte Vedra. But, for the district title this past Friday in Matanzas, the Pirates finished the job with a 2-1 victory.
Players from Weber’s seven-year tenure and those who played under former coach Tony Benvenuto attended the district final to witness their program make history.
“Matanzas lost to Ponte Vedra in the district final on penalty kicks in Tony’s second year, and it’s been hard for them to live with,” Weber said. “Some even got emotional, seeing us win it, especially since it was at our place, because we’ve never even hosted it before.”
Overcoming the disadvantage
Because the Sharks were given the district tie breaker over Matanzas (they both posted a 5-0-1 district record), they had a first-round bye. Then, they blew out Orange Park in the district semifinal and rested their starters the second half.
Matanzas, on the other hand, played two full games before Ponte Vedra.
“They had fresh legs, but our mentality was there,” Weber said. “We played well from the start. I think we put a little doubt in them.”
One of his best
To put this win in perspective, Weber said, “It’s right up there, and it means a lot because it’s a district title. We’ve gone to the district final four times, and we’ve had four state champions come out of our district. The year we went to the region final, Seabreeze beat us three times, including the district fiinal on the ninth penalty kick. But, with nine seconds left with the golden goal in the second half of overtime to go to the region final. So, that one and this one for sure.”
