Santa Fe Rolls Past Suwannee En Route to Regional Semifinals
ALACHUA — It was shades of Nov. 17 for Santa Fe boys soccer Tuesday night when it once again defeated Live Oak Suwannee 2-1 at home. The difference was this match was for a trip to the Class 3A Regional semifinals.
The match started slow as neither team could score until after the second-half water break. In the 64th minute, Santa Fe (12-4-3) forward Dharma Rico weaved through multiple defenders and netted his fifth goal of the postseason to break the drought against Suwannee (11-10-4).
“It was such a relief because the first half, I’m not going to lie, I was playing pretty bad,” Rico said.
That relief only lasted four minutes, as Bulldogs striker Rember Alonso tied the game in the 68th minute with a strike from the edge of the box.
“I think I’m a pretty pessimistic person, honestly,” Rico said. “So when they scored, I thought, no way, it might be over.”
Only two minutes after Suwannee’s goal, Rico fired a pass into the box to captain Wayne Boone, who rifled the ball into the back of the net to push the Raiders back into the lead. After 63 scoreless minutes, both teams combined for three goals in just seven minutes.
“We didn’t put our heads down,” Boone said. “We got up and we went to score that next goal.”
The Santa Fe defense held strong for the final minutes to send the team to its second consecutive regional semifinal appearance.
“Just knowing that I get to play another game at my home, especially in my senior year, that means a lot to me,” Boone said.
It’s the Raiders’ sixth win in the last seven games against Suwannee, not losing since before coach Morgan Dall’Acqua took over.
“That’s a team across the way that I’ve got a ton of respect for,” Dall’Acqua said. “It’s very much like looking in the mirror whenever we get the opportunity [to play].”
The next step for the Raiders comes next week with a rematch against the last team to beat them prior to postseason play, the South Walton Seahawks. The seventh-seeded Seahawks upset two seed Wolfson on Tuesday to advance, giving three seed Santa Fe home field for the semifinal match.
It’s not the first time these two teams meet in the regionals. In the quarterfinal on Feb. 6, 2024, Santa Fe lost 2-1 to South Walton in an upset.
It is an opportunity at redemption for the Raiders.
“Knowing that they’re going to come to us next week, it makes me feel really good to get back at them,” Boone said.
Dall’Acqua shared the same mindset about hosting the Seahawks (6-9-4).
“The good Lord blessed us on two accounts, because he let us get out of here with a win tonight and he’s going to bring a team down here that I think we’re going to be ready for,” Dall’Acqua said.
2026 Boys Soccer State Championship Tournament Class 3A Tournament
Category: High School Sports, Santa Fe High School
