Avery Stewart – Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - The Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) girls soccer team has won back-to-back regional titles and have a record of 16-2-3.
The Lady Mustangs competed against Eastlake and after a 4-4 tie and two overtimes, the Mustangs won 6-5 in a penalty kick shootout (PKs).
Junior Avary Shirely saved four PKs in total to secure the win for the Mustangs.
Shirley said, “I am so proud of my team. Even with a close game, we played for one another and our PKs showcased that.”
The girls will compete in the 6A state semifinals scheduled for 1 p.m., Feb. 23 against Niceville (18-1-1).
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Vaibhav Akkinepally and Roman Haught- Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH FL)- The Lakewood Ranch boys soccer team fell short in the regional finals.
Tuesday night, the Mustangs faced off against Pinellas Mitchell (17-5-1) in the regional final match looking to get revenge from their previous defeat back in Feb. 2025.
After a competitive end-to-end match, the boys conceded two unlucky goals in the second half, resulting in a 2-0 loss for the varsity boys (19-1-2).
Mustang head coach Vito Bavaro reflected on the match stating, “It was a groundbreaking year going undefeated for the first time ever, although there was a couple of unlucky bounces that’s why you play the game, next year all we can do is move on and build on it for next year.”
Coming into the game Mitchell won 12 of their last 14 matches, making them a tough opponent.
LRHS senior Ben Perrupato stated, “Although we did not reach our ultimate goal, which was to win the state title, we still made history and had a good season.”