Since opening its doors for the first time 61 years ago, a lot of teams have played a lot of games in a lot of sports for Immaculata LaSalle High School.
But in all that time, forget thoughts about winning a state title. The small Catholic school tucked away in a quiet corner of South Miami next to Mercy Hospital had never even experienced a team in any sport playing in a state championship game.
That all changed on Saturday night.
With a standing-room-only crowd lined up along the fences roaring at every opportunity, the LaSalle boys’ soccer team delivered in a big way for its fans and its school. The Royal Lions, on the strength of a pair of Eugenio Elizondo goals, defeated Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 2-0 in a Class 2A state semifinal.
Not only did players storm the field in celebration when the final whistle blew, but just about every member of the school’s student body joined them as well.
The win puts LaSalle (22-5-2) into the Class 2A state championship game, where the Royal Lions will travel to Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand to take on Orlando Lake Highland Prep at 7 p.m. Thursday.
It also capped off a historic weekend for South Florida high school soccer teams as well. DeLand will be a busy place next week as nine out of a possible 10 teams from Miami-Dade and Broward counties (boys and girls) advanced to their respective state title games, the most ever in a single season.
Saturday night was also retribution from two years ago for the Royal Lions. They lost their shot at making history that night when they played host to Tampa Berkeley Prep in a state semifinal and suffered a painful 1-0 loss.
“So much hard work goes into moments like this,” said Elizondo, one of the senior captains. “I sat on this field two years ago as a sophomore crying when it was over, not knowing if we would ever get another chance. So to actually find a way to get back here and break through to make some history tonight not only for this program but for this school — it’s a very emotional thing and I’m so grateful for this moment.”
Elizondo scored his first goal 14:27 before halftime on a perfectly executed set play off a pass from Enrique Mejias. The two teamed up again three-and-a-half minutes into into the second half, with Mejias feeding him a crossing pass on a two-on-one break, easily beating the Mooney keeper.
“This is crazy right now,” said Mejias. “We worked hard and played a great game tonight. I don’t know who we’re playing next week or where we’re going, some place upstate I guess. Just tell me where to go and I’ll be there. We want one more.”
Following the second goal, things were turned over to senior keeper Iker Sanchez and a rock solid defense that didn’t give up a goal in its four playoff victories. Cardinal Mooney (15-6-5) never seriously threatened the net.
“We’ve been working real hard for this opportunity and now that we got it, we weren’t going to let it go,” said LaSalle head coach Richard Jobson. “When we lost on this field two years ago, you never knew if you would actually get another chance and the kids just went out there and played some great soccer tonight and took advantage of the second opportunity. We played on our field, had our fans and school behind us and it was just a great magical night for this program and this school.”