Lakewood Ranch boys soccer is climbing the national rankings

Four years ago, Vito Bavaro sat with his assistant coaches for the Lakewood Ranch boys soccer team, trying to figure out who would suit up for his varsity team and who would spend the season on junior varsity. A few months later, his senior-laded Mustangs would win another district championship, falling short during the second round of the region playoffs.

Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch’s JV team bullied its way through its season, only dropping a pair of games and regularly winning games 3-0 or better. The 13 freshmen who entered the program during the fall of 2013 were ready to form a new core.

With some of them, the Mustangs may have been better suited for a longer run into the 2014 postseason. Instead, Bavaro took a long-term view.

“We could’ve brought up one or two of them,” Bavaro said, “but I said, ‘Let’s keep these guys together. Let’s let them play, let them stay together and we’ll move a bunch of them up next year.’”

Now, with 13 seniors and eight in the starting lineup, Bavaro’s plan is paying off. Lakewood Ranch is unbeaten through nine games and not only one of the best teams in Florida, the Mustangs (8-0-1, 5-0 Class 5A-Region 8) are also among the best teams in the country, ranked 24th by MaxPreps.com for teams from states which play soccer during the winter.

Being a state title contender, though, is nothing new. A year ago, Lakewood Ranch was poised for a deep run in the Class 5A postseason before losing to Wesley Chapel Wiregrass Ranch on penalties during the first round of the Class 5A-Region 2 playoffs.

The loss was, of course, disheartening. A promising season derailed by what was essentially a coin flip. The three senior starters — including star goalkeeper Liam Bramley, who has already been inducted into the Mustangs’ alumni hall of fame — done because of an inherently fickle exercise.

“It was pretty shocking at the beginning,” midfielder Connor Bezet said, “but we just had to think over it and look what happened, and change it up for this year.”

Lakewood Ranch could take solace, though, in the 13 soon-to-be seniors — the backbone built years earlier with a remarkable JV season and their success predicted by a zealous club coach.

Mark Puhalovic, whose son Tyler is a starting midfielder for the Mustangs, had spent years coaching a chunk of the players who now make up the senior class.

“These are the kids that you’re going to have a shot at winning states with,” Bavaro remembers Puhalovich predicting back in 2013. “When this group comes up and when they all come together, this is going to be your best year.”

So far, Puhalovich has been right. Bavaro has had the ease of using one starting lineup for the entire season and Lakewood Ranch has only conceded two goals. The closest thing to a blemish is a draw in Venice against the Indians earlier this month, and it’s possible the Mustangs won’t be seriously tested again until a three-game stretch against Cardinal Mooney, Venice and Tampa Jesuit from Jan. 10-17, just before the postseason begins.

Until then, Lakewood Ranch is mostly just worried about staying healthy. The starting lineup is cohesive with eight players who have scored at least once this season and two goalkeepers who are both equally adept at anchoring the Mustangs’ defense. Barring another unlikely turn, Lakewood Ranch is poised for the run it never had a chance to make last winter.

“Were there other players better in better years than these kids? Yeah, but as a whole there was no better team,” Bavaro said. “This team is absolutely as a whole one of the best teams I’ve ever had.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch boys soccer is climbing the national rankings."