Palmetto rallies to defeat North Port, 5-3, in boys soccer

The Palmetto boys soccer team started slow Tuesday night, before overcoming a foggy field and visiting North Port for a 5-3 victory. The Tigers (8-1 overall, 6-1 district) stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in the first 25 minutes behind Jorge Morales’ hat trick. Leandro Gonzalez and Ty Dolan also scored, with Dolan’s strike breaking a 3-3 tie in the 78th minute. Candido Calvillo and Billy Pineda were credited with assists. Palmetto travels to Sarasota Riverview on Wednesday for its next match.

Lakewood Ranch 8, Manatee 1: Ricky Yanez and Connor Bezet each tallied braces, while Tyler Puhalovich, Drew Butler, Wilmer Yanez and Trevor Franko scored one goal apiece to account for the Mustangs’ scoring. Keeper Josh Lavieri made six saves and conceded one goal. Lakewood Ranch (10-0-1 overall, 6-0 district) earned the top seed for district tournament play in January. Next up is a home match Friday vs. Cape Coral Mariner.

Lakewood Ranch 4, Manatee 0: Hajar Benjoud (two goals, one assist), Faith Schyck (goal) and Gi Krstec (one goal, one assist) provided the offense, while the Mustangs’ defense kept a clean sheet for the sixth time. “It’s always a rivalry and they’re always going to bring it,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Guy Virgilio said. “To come out on top, the girls played a phenomenal game.” Lakewood Ranch is 9-1-1 overall, 6-0 in the district.

Bayshore 95, Southeast 63: The Bruins saw seven players score in double figures. They were: Bona Baker (17 points), Jaylen Pauley (15 points), Dahyson Walls (12 points), Denny Dessin (12 points), Venard Brown II (10 points), Chris Harris (10 points) and Miguel Rodriguez (10 points). Cedric Brooks (16 points) and Alex Taylor (15 points) paced Southeast. Bayshore is 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the district, losing all four games by a combined 11 points. The Bruins host Palmetto on Wednesday.

Braden River 72, Manatee 50: Deoni Cason (22 points, five steals, three assists), Daniel Tart (10 points, seven rebounds four assists), Jacob Garrett (10 points, two assists) and Ryan Duncan (eight points, 12 rebounds) paced the Pirates (5-1 overall, 2-1 district). Manatee’s Shane Hooks (17 points), Alex Rodriguez (12 points) and Ben Dalto (10 points) led the Hurricanes (6-2 overall, 1-2 district). Braden River improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the district. The Pirates host Southeast on Wednesday.

Lakewood Ranch 83, Venice 54: The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in Class 8A by MaxPreps, received double-digit scoring games from Damien Gordon (18 points, three 3-pointers), Jack Kelley (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Evan Spiller (15 points, three assists, three rebounds). Lakewood Ranch (7-0 overall, 3-0 district) saw Devin Twenty lead the team with five assists. The Mustangs continue playing district foes this Friday at Sarasota.

Southeast 47, Bayshore 44: The Seminoles made clutch free throws and used a full-court press late in the game to grind out a victory. Destiny Walker, who entered the fourth quarter with one point, dropped all six free throw attempts in the final period to help Southeast (8-4 overall, 4-1 district) win a close game. Charmaine Murray’s 12 rebounds also helped, and so did Daija Snipes (12 points). Bayshore’s Alexus Norman (16 points) paced the Bruins. Southeast is at Dunedin on Friday.

Manatee 42, Venice 39: Deanay Watson (16 points) and Bri Purington (nine points) led the Hurricanes (6-3 overall, 2-2 district), who play Wednesday at ODA.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Palmetto rallies to defeat North Port, 5-3, in boys soccer."