Saturday, November 14, 2026
Golden Gate’s goalie, Jan Carlos Hanaman, is happy after stopping a penalty kick.
Lely’s Braulio Garcia is sandwiched between Golden Gate’s Kevin Perez and Mateo Acuna Marmol.
Oscar Perez receives help with a tight hamstring.
Lely’s Mauricio Hernandez passes the ball.
Golden Gate’s Jerry Carrera uses his head to block a shot on goal.
Lely’s Alesandro Sarasini squares off with Golden Gate’s Gregory Breston.
Lely’s Kevin Sanchez attempts a shot on goal.
Lely’s Alesandro Sarasini gets some serious hang time. Golden Gate’s Christian Rico is contesting.
Evelin Trejo, Julissa Rosas and Stephanie Trejo show their support of Lely soccer.
Lely’s Braulio Garcia receives treatment from Lely trainer Edisson Cantor.
Golden Gate players and coaches celebrate their win over Lely.
Lely captain Johnathan Garcia during a tense moment.
What looked like smooth sailing to a district championship quickly turned turbulent for Lely High School as Golden Gate overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to upset the Trojans after two overtime periods and penalty kicks on Tuesday, February 1.
Lely controlled the ball for the first half of the district championship at Trojan Stadium, but things changed quickly in the second half.
Golden Gate scored at the 30:08 mark of the second half to cut the Trojan lead in half. There was a palatable momentum shift.
"There was a missed call on the offsides and it gave them life,” said Lely head coach Robbie Schank. "It’s just unfortunate, but that’s the game of soccer. You’re not going to get all the calls. The ball doesn’t bounce the right way."
“I was kind of waiting for the second half to start,” said Andy Hernandez, Golden Gate head coach. "They responded well. These guys battled hard all year and they just come out and play. They showed out what they had. They’re a great team. I’m just proud of all the guys on Golden Gate.”
Golden Gate tied the game up with a goal with 15:11 left in the second half. After two 10-minute overtime periods, the score was still tied 2-2, forcing penalty kicks. Golden Gate’s momentum carried over into the penalty kicks session.
“Oh, man, our kickers stepped up,” Hernandez said. "They all made their shots. But the goalie, though, came up through. Jan Carlos Hanaman, big saves. The first two were big. That just gave us some momentum. That’s what soccer’s all about. They just did a great job. It was great to be part of.”
Schank remained upbeat. Despite coming up short of the district crown, he takes solace in the fact his team advances to regional play of the district runner-up. They lost in the district final the past two seasons, but advanced deep into the playoffs.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Schank said. "This is obviously not the result we wanted. We want to congratulate Golden Gate for winning the district championship. But we’re still in this game. This is actually the third time in a row we’ve done this. The past two years we came back and won the regionals. You can’t count us out. If history repeats itself, I couldn’t be any more confident in these guys right here. They’ll get it done. We’re healthy. We’re ready to go.”
Sixth-seeded Lely (14-6-2) was scheduled to travel to Pembroke Pines (13-5) on Wednesday, February 9, for a matchup with the third seed in the region. Fourth-seed Golden Gate (7-13) was scheduled to host fifth-seeded Archbishop McCarthy (10-5-2) on Wednesday.
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