Boys soccer | Lakewood Ranch's unbeaten streak hits two months with win against struggling Palmetto
PALMETTO -- For most of Friday's final 40 minutes, Lakewood Ranch sagged back and went on the defensive against Palmetto. The Tigers worked to the corners of the field at Harllee Stadium, picking out teammates in the middle for crosses which inevitably failed.
The Mustangs already led by this point after scoring in the 32nd minute. Against Palmetto's struggling offense and with a dynamite goalkeeper in net, Ranch had enough. Eventually, Lakewood Ranch broke out for a corner kick and a dagger to win 2-0 in Palmetto. Keeper Liam Bramley finished off his ninth shutout and the Mustangs (12-3-2, 5-0-2 Class 5A-District 8) continued their march into the postseason.
"This has been the first year where we are solid all the way from top to bottom," Ranch head coach Vito Bavaro said.
Lakewood Ranch and PHS (10-9-1, 5-2 Class 4A-District 11) have been on alternate trajectories as the regular season enters its final week. The Mustangs haven't lost since Nov. 9 and have won 10 of their last 12 games. The Tigers have dropped four of their last five and are struggling to score. Their latest non-district match was a continuation.
"I think I'm pretty pleased with the way we are playing," Tigers head coach Rui Fernandez said. "We've just got to be able to find the back of the net."
The Mustangs and the Tigers played evenly for the first 30 minutes, trading chances before Lakewood Ranch landed its first extended opportunity. After missing one opportunity on a corner kick in the 27th minute, forward Ricky Yanez finished from the edge of the box in the 32nd min
ute to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
Yanez's feed came off the foot of fellow forward Pablo Vargas, who has teamed beautifully with Yanez atop Ranch's offense. In the 73rd minute, Vargas finished off PHS with a goal off the crossbar."I've got a couple really fast guys up front who can score goals," Bavaro said. "They made two beautiful goals. I couldn't ask for anything better."
This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Boys soccer | Lakewood Ranch's unbeaten streak hits two months with win against struggling Palmetto ."