Alonso v. Palm Harbor

ALONSO FALLS TO PALM HARBOR UNIVERSITY IN DISTRICT SEMI-FINALS

January 24, 2025 - Alonso faced off against a great Palm Harbor University squad at PHU's field on a cold January night in this District Semi-Final Match-up.  Alonso entered the game ranked 210 in the state while PHU entered as the 11th ranked team.   PHU was ranked as high as 6th in the state just a few days before this game (before losing in PKs to Osceola in the PCAC Championship Game on 1/17/25).  For their part, the Ravens had reached as high as 195 and had tied the number 99 team in Plant early in the year.  In recent weeks, injuries have taken their toll on the Ravens, but they knew that they had the ability to hang with any team in the state.  That is exactly what the Ravens did on Thursday night.  The final score was a close 2-0 loss for the Ravens, with no goals being scored in the second half.  

The game was scoreless at the first half water break with Alonso pulling out all the stops to keep the Hurricanes from scoring.  Make no mistake, PHU has an incredibly talented team.  They have offensive weapons all over the field, incredible speed and excel at 1-2 passing.  Nevertheless, the Ravens were able to bend, but not break, until the 36 minute mark when PHU made a perfect cross to one of their tallest players, who knocked in a brilliant header into the upper 90.  Alonso managed to get a one-on-one a few minutes later, but PHU's keeper made a great save to keep the Ravens from tying the score.  Then, just before halftime, PHU got a quick counterattack as the Ravens were pushing up and knocked in the second goal.  

The Ravens regrouped at halftime and recommitted to playing defensive soccer.  The Ravens did create some chances, though.  Henry Lunar, Johan Murillo and Lucas Moreno all created opportunities and/or got off solid shots on goal.  Unfortunately, one of those opportunities resulted in a major injury.  With about 10 minutes remaining, the Ravens' Miguel Da Silva got the ball on the right side of the field and started heading towards goal.  As he ran, something popped in his right knee and he fell to the ground in agony.  Miguel was carted off the field in what appeared to be an ACL injury, though we still await the official results.  This terrible moment was the latest in a series of terrible injuries for the Ravens this season.   Alonso's Lukas Garcia went down against Leto in December with a non-contact ACL tear and Reid Holt had his jaw fractured in the first five minutes of the game against Steinbrenner.  

The Ravens could not knock in a goal to cut the lead in the second half, but they also held PHU scoreless in that half.  Including preseason and postseason, the Ravens have played 36 halves of soccer.  The Ravens have had more goals scored against them in only 9 of those 36 halves.  They only allowed more than two goals in any half three times all season and have shutout opponents in a whopping 21 halves.  All in all, this has been a great year for the Ravens soccer team...except for the injuries.

All teams suffer injuries throughout the course of a season.  Indeed, Alonso has had many other less serious injuries all year, but these three major injuries are the first of their kind in recent memory.  Each team develops an identity throughout the course of a season.  The Ravens developed an identity of resilience and heart.  Including both the preseason and the postseason, the Ravens closed out the year with an impressive 9-6-3 record.  More importantly, the Ravens showed all who cared to look that we can compete with any team in the state.  We look forward to doing so again next season.  The Ravens return all but three seniors next year (though, admittedly, those will be big shoes to fill) and look forward to adding some new blood to the team.   

EDIT:  2/1/25 - Because of Alonso's strength of schedule and overall record, the Ravens season did not end with the District Semifinal loss to PHU.  The Ravens play PHU once again on 2/4/25 in the Regional Quarterfinals.