The Polo Park Middle School boys soccer team had a stellar season this fall, as the young Stallions came within one victory of capturing the Palm Beach County Middle School Boys Soccer Championship.
On Thursday, Dec. 19, Polo Park, under the guidance of head coach Craig Kaliser, faced the Dragons from Don Estridge Middle School in this year’s championship game, which was held at Village Park in Wellington.
Don Estridge was the reigning, two-time middle school boys soccer champions. After the final whistle was blown to conclude the 50-minute finale, Don Estridge defeated Polo Park, 2-1, to secure its third successive title.
In this match, Polo Park had a slight edge in terms of time of possession in the first half, while Don Estridge seemed to dominate the flow of play in the second half. The Stallions were unlucky not to take an early lead in the seventh minute, as the Dragons’ neutralized a potential goal-scoring moment for Polo Park, just in front of the Dragons’ goal mouth. Two minutes later, Don Estridge midfielder Max Johnson gathered in a free kick from midfield and slotted the ball into the back of the net. That gave Don Estridge an early 1-0 lead.
In the 23rd minute, Polo Park midfielder Samuel Rodriguez scored a remarkable goal. While standing 20 yards outside the penalty box, Rodriguez struck the ball with his right foot, sending it into the upper left-hand corner of the goal, just beyond the outstretched arms of Don Estridge’s goalkeeper. That knotted the score at 1-1. Then, in the final minute of the first half, Don Estridge took the go-ahead score when Johnson converted a penalty kick after a Polo Park defender was called for tripping in the penalty box.
The second half was competitive and scoreless. Both teams threatened to score but were nullified by stifling defenses. That left Don Estridge (11-1-2) clinging to a 2-1 lead at the final whistle, thus securing a third straight Palm Beach County title.
Looking back on the overall season, Polo Park finished with a record of 11-1-1. Of the 11 victories, seven of them were shutouts. The top-goal scorers for Polo Park this season were Jaylen Joyner, Caiden Mata and Rodriquez. The team’s two co-captains were Andre Da Silva and Jude Mishkin, who was the team’s starting goalkeeper.
