Santa Fe Boys Soccer Advances to District Title Match After Thrashing Palatka
ALACHUA — On a chilly Friday night, a large crowd of Santa Fe High boys soccer supporters packed the bleachers to watch their Raiders host the Palatka Panthers in the Class 3A-District 4 Tournament semifinal match.
Santa Fe dominated the time of possession from the start of the 8-0 win, as Palatka’s defense desperately held on.
That was until halfway through the first half, when Santa Fe forward Dharma Rico headed in the first Santa Fe goal off a corner from captain Wayne Boone.
In the 27th minute, Boone was fouled inside the box for a penalty. After he scored off the penalty kick, the floodgates opened. Santa Fe wound up winning via mercy rule after 63 minutes of play.
Top-seeded Santa Fe (10-4-3) will kick off against third seed Eastside (6-8-3) for the district title at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Rams upset two seed Keystone Heights 3-2 in Friday’s other semifinal.
Amid the lopsided result, Santa Fe coach Morgan Dall’Acqua did not discredit Palatka’s players for their effort.
“Early, it was a very close match,” Dall’Acqua said. “Those boys, they fought their butts off. There was no quit in them, they didn’t pack it in. […] They came out to fight for as long as the game lasted, and they fought all the way to the end.”
Rico led the Raiders with the first hat trick of his high school career.
“It felt great,” Rico said. “I’m glad I could put it in my senior year. It was kind of a relief that we had it in the bag.”
Late in the first half, Boone exited the game with a bloody nose after a head-to-head collision with a Palatka player. He returned to the game in the 60th minute.
“Wayne is a leader,” Dall’Acqua said. “He really does drive our offense. We’ve got some depth there. I hate to have to use depth, because if you’re using depth you’re dealing with injuries. But we’ve been dealing with injuries all season, so we’ve got guys that are ready to get out and get some production.”
Santa Fe is one win away from its third district title in a row, and will host Eastside in a regular-season rematch with higher stakes. The Raiders won that match 2-0 on Nov. 21.
Winning will require “luck,” Dall’Acqua said.
“Coach Basil [Benjamin] has been around for a very long time,” Dall’Acqua said of the Rams’ coach. “He’s got a really, really good eye for the game. We played them earlier this season here at our place. He made some tactical mistakes, I don’t expect him to make those mistakes again.”
Category: High School Sports, Santa Fe High School
