Cypress Bay boys’ soccer team wins Class 6A state title

Cypress Bay celebrated its first state championship on the field, completing the weekend sweep for all three Broward teams in Tampa. The Lightning (20-3-1) also got some revenge for its 2008 loss in the state championship game to Varela (21-4-3).

For the Vipers, it was a night where they came so close, so often.

They had the better chances for most of the first half, and a Varela player hit the post just seconds after Williams’ strike gave Cypress Bay the lead.

Varela earned a corner kick with less than two minutes remaining, and the desperate Vipers tried pulling Lewis past the midfield line to use his 6-3 frame to get a head on the ball.

“At that point in time, you’ve got to go for it,” Varela coach J.C. Gonzalez said. “We didn’t come here to sit back and relax. We wanted to come out and give them a fight.”

The teams spent the first 20 minutes feeling each other out, but the action intensified after the first-half water break.

The Vipers struck first when captain Alvaro Acosta ran down the left sideline and sent a perfect cross into the penalty box. Diego Hurtado was on the other end of it, heading the ball past a helpless Zach Biggs for a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.

Cypress Bay didn’t stay down for long. The Lightning scored its first goal just four minutes later.

Carlos Vargas took a pass from a teammate, and the pass drew defenders to him. Vargas immediately dished the ball to Humberto Diaz with the outside of his left foot. With no one remaining to cover Diaz, the sophomore had plenty of time to strike the ball into the back of the net and tie the match.

That is when the Lightning’s depth started to show, even with the missing players. Todeschini injured his right ankle in practice in the week leading up to the state tournament, and when he couldn’t sprint before either game, Williams got the call.

Similarly, Javier Clavijo seamlessly replaced Granitto, who spent the week in Phoenix training with the U.S. under-18 national team.

“Tommy is like the whole midfield,” Vargas said. “But everybody played amazing. Everybody stepped up.”

Varela’s season ended just short of the school’s third title, but Gonzalez was still proud of what his team accomplished.

“Once we picked the team, I told them there was something here,” Gonzalez said.

“I knew we had a great team that could take us to the final. The boys played their hearts out. We reached where we wanted to reach and, unfortunately, you’ve got to have a little luck. [Cypress Bay] got that little luck.”