History was working against this years LaBelle High School Boy’s Soccer team. It had been six years since the host school of the District Tournament had won the Championship. To make matters worse, no team had won back to back championships since Clewiston entered the district five years ago. But the Cowboys were determined to break that trend and make history by winning back to back District Championships.

LaBelle, which was undefeated in regular season district play (8-0), knew they had to be on their best game going in and did not disappoint. In their first game against the number four seed Gateway Charter, the Cowboys prevailed 8-1.

Six different players scored for LaBelle, including Freshman Omar Alvarado’s 3 goals. Weather delayed the Championship game to Monday (Jan. 25th) were the Cowboys had to face rival Bishop Verot. LaBelle started slowly, with Verot in control most of the first half but could not score leaving both teams tied at 0-0.

The second half was completely opposite from the first as LaBelle came out with pressure and aggressive play.

The Cowboys were rewarded for their efforts, producing two goals that would prove to be the difference in the game.

Sophomore Juan Zamora came off the bench to score first and then Senior Eduardo Benitez got a little help from a Verot player on a loose ball in front of the net to make it 2-0.

As time ran out, this years LaBelle Cowboys learned from their past history and accomplished what had not been done before.