Seven Palm Beach County teams took the field Friday for regional semifinals competition, and four emerged victorious.
Boca Raton (in blue) defeated Wellington 1-0 Friday night to advance to tonight’s Class 5A regional finals. The Bobcats will host Vero Beach, which defeated Jupiter 1-0. (Andres Leiva/Palm Beach Post)
Boca Raton, Suncoast, Oxbridge Academy and Saint John Paul II Academy won their games, and will play for regional championships tonight.
Below is our preview of those contests. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
Class 5A
Vero Beach (16-4-1) at Boca Raton (17-2-1): The Bobcats and Indians meet for the second straight year in the regional finals. Boca Raton won last year’s contest in a 6-1 rout, and returns much of its starting lineup from that team. The Indians dropped their district championship game to Jupiter this year, but rebounded to beat the Warriors 1-0 in the regional semifinals Friday on a free kick goal with 4:33 remaining. The Bobcats also won 1-0 Friday, scoring a first-half goal and then holding off an excellent Wellington team. Boca Raton has plenty of firepower on offense, with seniors Dayana Martin and Kendra Cashion leading the way. Vero Beach will need to mark them well.
Prediction: Boca Raton 4-1
Class 4A
Southwest Ranches-Archbishop McCarthy (22-1-2) at Suncoast (17-6-1): The Chargers face a huge test at home against the Mavericks, who knocked off perennial power Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas Friday in the regional semifinals. Suncoast – a district runner-up – upset two favored teams to get to this round, and will need another huge performance against Archbishop McCarthy, whose only loss came to St. Thomas Aquinas two weeks ago in the district championship game. Suncoast played a tough schedule leading up to this game, and that experience could help them.
Prediction: Archbishop McCarthy 3-0
Class 2A
Miami-Gulliver Prep (13-4-1) at Oxbridge Academy (10-1-4): The road to a second straight state championship doesn’t get any easier for the ThunderWolves. Oxbridge, which has been tested in its previous regional wins against Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest and Fort Lauderdale-Cardinal Gibbons, faces another tough opponent in the Raiders. Gulliver Prep – a district runner-up – won a pair of close games to get to this round, beating Miami-Ransom Everglades 1-0 and Miami-Carrollton School 3-2. But the ThunderWolves also know how to win close games, and proved it two weeks ago in the district championship game with a 4-3 come-from-behind win on penalty kicks over Benjamin.
Prediction: Oxbridge Academy 2-1
Class 1A
Saint John Paul II Academy (14-3-1) at Lakeland Christian (21-0-2): These teams met last year in the regional finals, with the Vikings winning 4-0 at home. Another Lakeland Christian win puts the school back in the state semifinals, where it defeated Palmetto Bay-Palmer Trinity last year before falling to Orange Park-St. Johns Country Day in the title game. The Vikings have not lost since that 2-0 setback, but could be tested by an Eagles team that has lost just once since mid-November.
Prediction: Lakeland Christian 3-0