Tampa Jesuit closes the books on Golden Gate

TAMPA — The Golden Gate boys soccer team's maiden voyage into the regional playoffs ended Tuesday night, as a team with a long tradition made it a long ride back to Collier County for the Titans.

Senior Kory Sprehe scored a hat trick in the first half to propel Tampa Jesuit past the Titans 4-1 at Chorale Stadium in the Class 4A Region 3 semifinals.

Jesuit next hosts Immokalee, which defeated the Titans (10-6-5) in the district championships, on Friday for the regional title.

The Tigers (24-4-1) played with a confidence that lived up to their reputation as a state soccer powerhouse. Tampa Jesuit has won six state titles in its history, the last coming in 2001. The Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the country that season as well.

"I looked at their roster before the game," Golden Gate coach Dwight Morgan said. "They have a lot of juniors and seniors going off to colleges. That team's been established for years and we were a second-year team going up against them."

"They're very disciplined," Morgan added about Jesuit. "We just didn't play our all-around game."

Sprehe scored his first goal in the game's seventh minute. He fielded a corner kick from senior Tim Miller and drilled it past Golden Gate keeper Vidal Segura.

The Titans, however, did not crumble. After turning away several shots, Golden Gate got a golden opportunity of its own. In the game's 21st minute, Carlos Fuentes sent a direct kick toward Jesuit keeper Justin Morris. Morris deflected that shot, but wasn't able to get to the next shot from Damian Coliqueo. Coliqueo sent the ball screaming into the net to tie the game.

That tie lasted about 3½ minutes, as Sprehe notched his second goal, a rebound after the ball pinballed between several players.

"That's the same thing that happened in our game against Palmetto," Jesuit coach Bob Buchanan said. "We gave up a goal and, just a few minutes later came back to score. It shows how explosive we can play."

Sprehe's third goal came with less than four minutes to go in the first, off another Miller corner kick. Santi Alexis scored the Tigers' fourth goal on a second-half penalty kick.

The victory margin could have been even larger, if not for several brilliant diving stops by Segura. Segura is just a sophomore, Morgan said, and the Titans roster is filled with young players eager to return next season.

"It was growing pains," Morgan said of Tuesday's game, "just a part of growing pains."