Canes Strike For Victory

Palm Harbor University's Ben Sweat spun and fired in a left-footed shot to the back of Coconut Creek Monarch's net after a nice pass from P.J. McDonald in Friday's Class 5A semifinals at Pepin Stadium. The goal led to a 2-0 win and tonight the Hurricanes will play for their third state championship.

The goal was simple, clean, decisive - and a long time coming. Palm Harbor (23-4-4) got off to a slow start as the Hurricanes' first shot and goal came in the 67th minute of a sloppy match.

"We were a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the game," Hurricanes coach Alex Delgado said. "We were trying to keep possession at times and we weren't connecting in the first half.

"We had some opportunities in the first half but it wasn't as a team. I thought in the second half these guys stepped it up."

Monarch's offense didn't fare much better as both teams played most of the match in the midfield with solid play from both teams' defenders. Monarch (18-6-2) notched its first shot on goal in the 55th minute, when Felipe Nascimento sent a 40-yard free kick right to Hurricanes goalkeeper Max Gallin.

The back and forth and cheap giveaways began to show on the Hurricanes' players, who were visually frustrated on the pitch.

But that went away as the sun started to set behind the stands at Pepin Stadium and the lights at the University of Tampa went off, dimming the field but seeming to light a spark for PHU.

"It kind of focused these guys," Delgado said. "After the water break with the lights going down and the fans getting into it ... these boys definitely took the moment and made it theirs."

The Hurricanes added a capper with their second goal on a penalty kick inside the box by Matthew Tobin. On the previous play, Tobin had stolen the ball from Monarch defender Kevin Concha and passed it along to Andrew Smith, who was taken out in the box by Knights keeper Diego Cardosa.