On Saturday night, Boca Raton FC returned to The Shipyard to host Miami FC. The Boys in Blue went into the match riding high on a two-game win streak but were unable to produce another positive result, falling to Miami by a score of 5-0.
From kickoff, Miami FC looked to be the more dangerous side, but the first real scoring chance came in the eighth minute as Boca Raton FC midfielder Rafinha set his sights on goal, but was denied by Miami goalkeeper Ryan Herman. Just three minutes later, Miami FC’s Jaime Chavez broke through the Boca Raton defense and opened the scoring.
Shortly after Chavez’s goal, Rafinha was brought down by a heavy challenge and had to leave the game due to an apparent ankle injury. In his post-game interview, head coach Jim Rooney described the impact of losing a key player, especially so early in a game: “Any time you lose a player with Rafa’s ability, who can control the game, it changes the dynamic of the game. It also changes the mentality of some of our players because they know what he brings to the table for us.”
Despite creating a handful of scoring chances, Boca Raton FC was unable to find a breakthrough and went into halftime trailing Miami FC 3-0.
After the break, the Boys in Blue grew into the game and had spells of possession in the attacking half. Giovanni Amoroso came closest to scoring in the 55th minute, but his long-range chip shot was saved by Herman, who did just enough to parry the ball away for a corner kick.
In the 61st minute, Miami FC midfielder Ariel Martinez was brought down in the box, resulting in the referee awarding a penalty kick to the guests. Boca Raton FC goalkeeper Michael Stone dove to his right, producing a fantastic save, but Martinez was able to slot home the rebound to make it 4-0. Four minutes later, Martinez provided an assist for Sean McFarlane Jr, who scored the fifth and final goal.
Despite the five-goal deficit, the hosts displayed resilience in the final 25 minutes, remaining organized in defense and moving forward when possible. Coach Rooney praised the team’s effort, saying, “Obviously we want to get a result, but I always encourage them to keep playing and fighting through it. I thought that, at the very least, we didn’t give up and kept working hard until the very end. I was very pleased with that.”
Next Saturday, Boca Raton FC will travel to Milander Park to take on Miami United.
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