Sarasota Paradise defender Felipe Rojas. Provided photo.

At a certain point, when does making history stop making headlines? For the Sarasota Paradise, time will only tell. The Paradise, recently crowned the United Soccer League Two’s South Florida Division champions for the second consecutive season, are on the precipice of making organizational history once more. This weekend, the Paradise will host multiple playoff matches at its home arena at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, including its own against Sporting JAX on Friday night. A win against Sporting JAX would be the organization's first postseason victory.

Here’s how it works: Out of the 144 USL League Two teams, 32 teams from the Eastern, Western, Southern and Central conferences have made the playoffs. In a single-elimination format, teams from the Southern and Eastern conferences will battle through four rounds for the chance to square off with the winner of the Western/Central National semi-finals for the League Two Championship on August 2. On Friday, Premier Sports Campus will host two Conference Quarterfinal games—Laredo Heat SC vs. Fort Lauderdale United at 4:00pm, followed by the Paradise vs. Sporting JAX at 7:30pm. The winners of those two matches will square off on July 21 at 7:30pm.

“I know from experience that people think these things can come all the time, but there are no guarantees in life,” says Head Coach Mirko Dakovic of being crowned South Florida Division champions once again. “I’m incredibly proud of the team’s resiliency, the depth of the roster and the commitment of the players to wanting to win from beginning to end.”

Although the Paradise lost in the first round of 2024’s League Two playoffs, the team is confident in its ability to make it out of the round-of-32 this year. The Paradise have been led by a cadre of some of the top collegiate and amateur players in the country. Sarasota native Andres Freire, who plays at Stetson University, leads the team with 10 goals on the season. Defender Felipe Rojas, who was raised in Sarasota and has been with the team since its inception, helps shore up a rock solid back line. “We’re feeling stronger this year than we were last season,” says Rojas. “We’re more confident and we want to make a run and show the country just how good this team can be.”

USL League Two Southern Conference Quarterfinals, July 18, 4:00pm and 7:30pm, Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd, Lakewood Ranch, 34211

Sarasota Paradise defender Felipe Rojas. Provided photo.

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