Lake Mary finishes season No. 1 in Super Six
Lake Mary almost made it back to the FHSAA boys soccer finals this past week in DeLand, where it won a state championship two years ago, but a narrow 1-0 loss to Tampa Plant in a Class 7A state semifinal ended the Rams’ season instead.
Still, they did enough during 2020-21 to close out the season No. 1 in the Sentinel Super Six rankings.
Jack Ireland tallied 24 goals and 13 assists for the top-ranked team, which registered 11 shutouts. Defender Justin Dorman had four goals and four assists.
Lake Mary’s final two months of the schedule included a tie vs. Lake Nona, an overtime win vs. DeLand, and a 3-1 win vs. Port Orange Spruce Creek, which closed the regular season No. 1 in the FHSAA power rankings. The Rams advanced to the final four by way of a decisive 4-1 win against Winter Park.
Lake Nona finishes No. 2 in the Super Six, followed by No. 3 Winter Park.
Senior Kieran McInerney and junior Brandon Nugent helped the Lions’ defense hold opponents to just 10 goals before losing a home regional semifinal against Winter Park 2-1 in overtime. Lake Nona previously defeated the Wildcats twice, including a 2-0 victory Feb. 12 to claim the District 4 title.
Winter Park edged No. 4 Trinity Prep in the rankings on the strength of quality wins against Timber Creek, Lake Howell and Boone, along with draws vs. Cypress Creek and Freedom. Winter Park and Trinity Prep played to a scoreless tie Dec. 9.
Trinity Prep reached the Class 3A state semifinals despite missing injured senior midfielder Charles Ahl during the postseason. Ahl tallied 14 goals and nine assists in 10 games. Junior forward Simon Brown closed out the season with 17 goals for the Saints.
Six area teams in all advanced to the regional championship round this season, including 7A’s Clermont East Ridge for the first time in program history. The Knights, ranked No. 5 in the Super Six, were led by senior defensive midfielder Jackson Staton, who scored four times and assisted on three goals.
Bishop Moore (15-6-5) lost 3-1 at Miami Gulliver Prep in a 4A state semifinal. Foundation Academy (10-4-2) ended its season with a 6-4 loss at Vero Beach Saint Edward’s in a 2A regional final.
No. 6 Cypress Creek, which scored only 23 goals but held opposing teams to five goals in 17 matches, saw its impressive season end early in back-to-back penalty-kick losses. The
Bears dropped a district final to Davenport Ridge Community and a regional quarterfinal at East Ridge. Both matches were knotted at 0-0 after regulation and two overtime periods.
Final Super Six rankings
1. Lake Mary (21-3-1): The Seminole Athletic Conference champions played Lake Nona to a 1-1 draw Jan. 18 and outscored opposing teams 75-21 en route to Class 7A state semifinals.
2. Lake Nona (12-1-4): Versatile midfielder Diego Villalobos scored six goals and made an impact on both ends of pitch for a team that allowed just 12 goals.
3. Winter Park (13-33): Senior midfielder Jake Joyce led the Wildcats with 13 goals and seven assists. Winter Park’s three losses came against Lake Nona (twice) and Lake Mary.
4. Trinity Prep (17-2-1): Sophomore goalkeeper Shane Wright went 15-1 as a starter with 11 shutouts and seven goals against. The Saints outscored opponents 72-11 on the season.
5. East Ridge (17-5-0): Will Barth finished with 20 goals and 19 assists. Eric Suarez added 21 goals and 10 assists to round out their senior seasons with Knights.
6. Cypress Creek (12-32): Senior Marcos Rondon and junior Luis Carlos Cruz were key pieces to a defense that registered 13 shutouts and allowed five goals.
Second Six: No. 7 Timber Creek (12-4-1), No. 8 Lake Howell (11-6-0), No. 9 Boone (8-5-1), No. 10 Celebration (10-3-5), No. 11 Freedom (9-5-4), No. 12. DeLand (10-3-2).