Indians’ opponent well-known in soccer circles

Immokalee High principal and assistant boys soccer coach Manny Touron said his Indians have never before played Tampa Jesuit. But he’s well aware of Jesuit’s legacy.

“Jesuit has won numerous state titles and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2001,” he said. “But I feel we have as good a team as anyone out there.”

The Indians (25-1) visit Jesuit (24-4-1) tonight at 7 for the Class 4A Region 3 championship and a berth in next week’s state semifinals at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Immokalee hopes to qualify for its first-ever state tournament. Jesuit, which has won six state titles and played in nine total state title games, wants to return to familiar surroundings.

This is only the second time in Immokalee school history that a boys soccer team has reached this point. The first came in 1997, when the Indians lost 1-0 to Riviera Beach-Suncoast in the Class 4A Region 4 finals.

Touron said his players are well aware they are trying to make history.

“A lot is at stake,” Touron said. “The kids know the pressure they’re going to be facing.”

But the Indians have applied a lot of pressure themselves this year. Their 4-0 regional semifinal win over Bartow was their 16th shutout of the season and their fourth straight. Their only loss this season came 1-0 to Fort Myers, who plays North Fort Myers tonight for the Class 5A Region 4 title.

“We know we’re going to have as tough a game as we had against Fort Myers,” Touron said.

Touron added that the Immokalee coaches have not gone into specifics concerning Jesuit. The Indians have been told they’ll face a quality team that distributes the ball well and is solid from top to bottom.Jesuit coach Bob Bauman said that was about right. After the Tigers’ 4-1 win over Golden Gate in the regional semis, Bauman said teamwork is his squad’s greatest strength.

“We don’t have any stars,” Bauman said. “We have great team chemistry.

Nobody looks past anyone else and says ‘Hey, I’m the guy.’

“The chemistry is what’s most important,” Bauman added. “In the last couple of years, we’ve had some individuals not as focused on team success.”

That isn’t the case this year for either team, as both have the state semis in their sights. Touron said he knows that opportunites will be few and far between in this game, so his Indians must capitalize on them when they can.

“We’ll only have one or two opportunities to put the ball in the net,” Touron said. “If we don’t capitalize then, it will be a long night for us. This is going to be a game like against Fort Myers, where it came down to the first team to make a mistake. I can really see this game going into overtime, if not a second overtime or penalty kicks.”