TAMPA – Jupiter’s first foray into the state final four ended abruptly at the feet of Jesuit on Friday.

Fitting that the Class 2A state semifinals were held at the University of Tampa's Pepin-Rood Stadium. After all, there was a college-sized crowd on hand, and Jesuit looked like a college team.

The Tigers (32-1) turned a surprisingly close first half into a 5-0 rout to advance to tonight’s final against Orlando Bishop Moore (24-5-2), which was also a 5-0 winner over Jacksonville Stanton Prep in the other semifinal.

In the 8th minute, Jesuit's Ryan Feely won a ball at the top of the box, beat a defender, and fired into the left corner for a 1-0 lead.

After seeing shots by Eric Greybowski and Jon Kluft go off the post, the Tigers connected again in the 28th minute. Bryce Wegerle carried to the baseline, pulled it back, and dropped it to Rob Daly in the middle, who finished on his 52nd goal of the season--most of them assisted by Wegerle.

To its credit, Jupiter (18-4-3) showed a lot of speed and athleticism. Goalie Paco Manzo and his defense were flying all over the penalty box trying to keep Jesuit strikers Dale Ellis and Daly at bay. And Justin Norton had several good runs through the midfield, including a shot that hit off the cross bar in the 30th minute. Jorge Manzo also got free once for a shot that went just wide.

"We were a little surprised by their speed at first, and our defense came out a little flat-footed,’’ Daly said. "But eventually, we got it under control and started working it forward.’’

Jesuit outshot the Warriors 14-4 in the first half, but it was Jupiter who came out agressively at the beginning of the second with a flurry of shots. Jesuit got back to its scoring ways in the 58th minute, however, when sweeper Erol Belli came forward and delivered a ball through to Daly. He slipped past a defender and nailed No. 53 in the right corner.

The Tigers built their lead three minutes later when Daly took a pass from Wegerle on the left wing and crossed to Feely for finish in the right corner for 4-0.

Moments later, Warrior midfielder Javier Cordoba took a pass from Norton on the wing and laid a hard shot on frame, but Tiger keeper Justin Trowbridge was able to haul it in.

Some diving saves by Manzo down the stretch kept the game from getting too out of hand, but Jesuit showed its depth when it sent in several substitutes with 15 minutes remaining and didn't appear to miss a beat. Greybowski capped the scoring in the 75th minute as he headed in a perfect cross from Wegerle.

"I didn’t think the final score really reflected how we played,’’ Warriors coach Gary Kingsley said. "We had two shots hit off the post and kept it close in the first half. It really should have been like a 2-0 game.

"I don’t walk out of here with any problem of how we played. These nine seniors got us here, and we’re going to miss them a lot.’’