Heritage falls in state semifinals

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

In each of Alvin James’ first two seasons as head coach of the American Heritage-Delray boys soccer team, he had taken the Stallions to the title match.

That streak ended Thursday with a surprising 3-2 loss (3-1 penalty kicks) to Providence High.

“I was kind of confident going into the penalty shootout,” James said.

“It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Providence freshman keeper Tanner Doudna was the star in penalty kicks, saving the first two shots he faced before Hasani Sinclair struck for the only goal for Heritage.

Doudna’s final save on Brandon Stratt triggered a Providence celebration, as the school reached the state final for the first time in its history.

“I was just trying to check them out, and I guessed right,” he said.

American Heritage (19-7-2) was lucky just to get into overtime, as Hasani Sinclair’s cross found Wendell James alone in front of the Providence net, and James scored in the 88th minute to tie the match at 2-2.

“I saw Wendell making the run, so I decided to take a chance, and, thank God he scored,” Sinclair said.

In the overtime, Sinclair played sweeper to cover for the Stallions’ dwindling numbers on the backline.

Francisco Moreno was injured on a challenge late in the second half, so Sinclair made the move when the first overtime period began.

“We had to move somebody back there to stabilize the defense,” Alvin James said.

It was a defense that struggled throughout the match.

A misplay in the box allowed Providence three point-blank shots on Heritage keeper Richard Rogers, and forward Jason Kelly finally finished to give Providence a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.

In the first half, a Heritage defender kicked the ball past the end line to set up a corner kick.

Providence capitalized when Isaac Kinman crossed the ball to Zach Sale for a perfectly timed shot from inside the box.
It was the first quality scoring chance for Providence in a match that had been dominated by Heritage for the first 18 minutes.

Heritage evened the score in the 29th minute, as a ball intended for Sinclair in the box bounced out to Alex Bidos, who fired a rocket past Doudna.

“The two boneheaded mistakes we made in the defense, the first one led to the goal, and after we tie it at 1-all, we give up another silly mistake in the box,” James said.

It was the second time in a week a Heritage soccer team had fallen in penalty kicks. Nine days ago the girls team also lost in PKs in the state final.

“It seems like anything the girls do, we do,” James said.

“When they win, we win. When they lose in penalties, we lose in penalties. But that’s the name of the game.”

Bobcats fall in regional quarterfinals

Jupiter rode Chris Enrico’s 26 points to defeat Boca Raton High 92-78 in a Class 6A regional quarterfinal Thursday night.

Greg Westry led the Bobcats (20-11) with 24 points. Anthony Anderson added 17.

In a Class 3A regional quarterfinal, Saint Andrew’s fell 72-55 to Pine Crest.

Vinny Panza scored 23 points and Francis Geubelle added 16, but the Scots (22-5) fell to the Panthers (24-4).

In Class 1A, Grandview Prep rolled to a 58-25 win over Trinity Christian.

Altavious Carter scored 23 points to lead the Pride (25-1).

Grandview plays at Lake Worth Christian in a regional semifinal Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Lake Worth Christian defeated Boca Raton Christian 65-28.

Joel Brill led the Blazes (10-12) with 19 points and four assists.

Baseball

At the Santaluces Slam, Boca Raton blanked Pope John Paul II 10-0.

Robbie Tyner picked up the win with six strikeouts in five innings, and he was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

The Bobcats are 2-0. The Eagles fell to 0-2.

Santaluces defeated Spanish River 8-1.

Blake Roth was 1-for-2 with a run scored for the Sharks (1-1).

Dwyer defeated Atlantic 4-3.

The Eagles are 1-1.

At the Key West Invitational, West Boca Raton topped Marathon 10-0.

Jason Whalen pitched a complete game and had eight strikeouts, and Mason Mattlin went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for the Bulls (1-0).

Saint Andrew’s defeated Benjamin 11-1.