Breakthrough boys soccer season for BridgePrep Village Green ends in state semis

BridgePrep Village Green’s improbable run to the state boys’ soccer championships came to an end, but it may just be the beginning. BridgePrep, in just its third year of operation, dropped a 2-1 Class 1A state semifinal showdown to Fort Myers Canterbury on Friday at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. “There’s no secret to getting here. It’s just all the hard work these kids put in,” BridgePrep coach Kevin Rios said. “They kept showing up to practice and doing the work. It took three years, but they finally got here. I think getting here is going to help us get even more players. They will now know us as a school that made it to states.” Trailing 2-0 at the 4-minute mark, BridgePrep sophomore defender Christopher Burgus lined a header into the back of the net to cut the lead to 2-1 and give some hope in the final minutes. However, Canterbury was able to prevent the Bulldogs from getting any more shots and advanced to the state title game. “It was a good counter attack,” Burgus said. “My friend Freddie Alveralo set a great ball and I was able to get a good header and get it in. It was a great game and our opponents were a great team. I just feel like we could have had better opportunities.” BridgePrep (13-2-1) stunned many soccer fans by reaching the state semifinal but actually dominated the game’s field position for much of the first half, though Canterbury took a 1-0 halftime lead off a goal by James Tomlinson with 24:37 remaining. Canterbury (18-2-3) increased its lead to 2-0 off a penalty kick by sophomore forward Mathias Perez with 30:44 remaining in the game. “We let that early goal in and then got a red card. I think that shifted the momentum,” Rios said. BridgePrep reached the state tournament with a dramatic 3-1 double-overtime win against Highlands Christian in the regional final. BridgePrep lost just one regular season game to St. Brendan 3-1 on Dec. 3. The only other blemish to prevent the Bulldogs from posting a perfect regular season was a 1-1 tie with Hialeah Educational Academy on Jan. 7. “This was a school that was unknown for a while and we never had a (soccer) program. I came in the first year and we had a team with some players. Then we started recruiting and building it up,” Rios said.