Regional soccer: 3 takeaways from Olympic Heights' upset of Jupiter

JUPITER – Olympic Heights Boys soccer defied expectations on Tuesday night, defeating three-seed Jupiter 2-1 in the regional quarterfinal.

They needed a knee to win – Leo Burguete's, to be exact.

The senior midfielder found the space needed to score his third goal of the season, and he could haven't picked a more opportune time.

Jupiter's (11-3-2) season draws to a surprising close, while Heights (12-7-4) will advance to the semifinals against Celebration (10-2-2).

"I'm all for these boys," Olympic Heights head coach Keith Fries said.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's game action.

1. It's about quality, not quantity

Then again, it doesn't hurt when you have both.

Olympic Heights played a dominant second half, but the game didn't necessarily start that way.

The Lions scored first through Guilhermee Pes, but then entered survival mode for a while as the Warriors peppered the goal, finally breaking through when Brennan Sims tucked in a deflection.

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But the Lions made the most of the chances they had, and that made the difference.

In the end, it was Burguete who scored what would be the game-winner after a free kick was deflected out of the bounds, setting the Lions up for a corner kick.

"That was a very exciting play," Burguete said. "For the corner, I had to make space obviously and try to get into that goal. So I made space, beat my defender, ran short to the front post and kneed it into the top right. The adrenaline afterwards was just pure happiness."

On the other end of the field, goalkeeper Antonio Andrade proved a tough nut to crack, even under threat of a penalty kick that would have given Jupiter a lead.

Facing a number of shots, he saved all but one.

"I feel amazing," Andrade said. "I feel happy to be there for my team when they need me the most. Saving that penalty just gave us a heads-up that we could actually win this."

2. Jupiter set to return young core

It was not the ending Jupiter envisioned for their season, but the 2023-2024 campaign is still one that head coach Kevin Allahar and company can look back on with pride at the team's successes.

"The guys played tough all year long, Allahar said. "My senior class, they were great. We're pretty young."

Of all the youth on the squad that is set to return, sophomore forward Erick Garcia offers some of the highest upside after breaking onto the attacking scene for the Warriors this year.

Pairing with Brennan Sims, Garcia gave Jupiter an additional option in the final third, and Allahar will be excited to see him back to lead the ranks, especially with Sims graduating.

In the end, Tuesday's loss ends the Warriors' season, but as in all sports, sometimes short-term memory is a good thing to have.

"It's hard, but they'll bounce back tomorrow," Allahar said.

3. Heights comfortable in face of adversity

Cool, calm, and collected.

That's the picture Olympic Heights soccer has painted on the field during their postseason run.

"They're just relaxed," Fries said. "They're enjoying it. And they're comfortable."

When a team is able to play its game regardless of the opposition's strengths and is able to dictate the pace through their style of play, that's a winning combination almost every time, underdog or not.

"Everybody thinks they can beat us but once we're on the field, we destroy them," Andrade said.

That type of confidence stems from playing top-tier teams across the county and beyond, a pattern that has battled-hardened the Lions.

"For three seasons now, they've played the toughest schedule we can find," Fries said. "In these kinds of moments, it pays off. We go and play the best teams we can in Broward, the best teams we can in Boca, the best teams in Palm Beach County, and we expect to be in situations like this."

And for a team that hasn't won a state championship since the 1980s, the countdown to a shot at breaking that drought has suddenly become quite short.

"It feels amazing," Burguete said. "I'm ready for the next round."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Regional soccer: 3 takeaways from Olympic Heights' upset of Jupiter