Sasha Chernikov
The Mako boys ready to play St. Brendan at home on Nov. 28.
MAST Academy’s boys’ soccer team has had an incredible season this year and it all started in a match versus Ransom Everglades, which ended in a 3-1 win for MAST on Nov. 7, 2023. A week later, MAST had their first tie of the season versus Doral Academy Preparatory School, the final score being 2-2.
On Nov. 16 the Makos had a 3-2 loss against Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School but used that to drive the 6-1 win against St. Brendan High School on Nov. 28. Unfortunately, Mast then lost 2-1 to Miami Beach High School on Dec. 5.
Similar to their last loss, MAST had a crazy comeback beating Key West High School 5-0 only 2 days later. MAST then went on to tie 4-4 with Somerset Academy after an intense head-to-head game. 8-0 was the final score for MAST versus Sunset High School on Dec. 21.
After the New Year, MAST played Christopher Columbus High School and won 3-3, this match was able to put the boys’ team into the GMAC semifinals versus Coral Park High School. The match occurred on Jan. 10 and finished with a 2-0 win.
The GMAC finals were next and only 2 days later. The team captain, senior Nico Alvarez, was very confident in his team and said “We had confidence in ourselves” in a previous interview with the Beacon.
The finals versus Palmetto Senior High ended in a monumental 2-1 win which sent the team to the FHSAA district tournament. As preparation, the Makos played against Coral Gables Senior High and won 3-1 on Jan. 18.
MAST had around 8 days to prepare for their first district tournament game versus Key West, which they had previously beat. They ended up winning the match 4-0 but this win was cut short only 4 days later.
The team went into District Finals with hope since they had beaten Gulliver previously, but unfortunately, MAST lost 1-0.
MAST’s Boys’ soccer team played in the FHSAA State Championship Tournament and went head-to-head against American Heritage on Feb. 6. They lost 0-1 and with that, the MAST season ended, but, nevertheless, it was a historic season in Mako history.