Lakewood Ranch boys soccer to play for first state championship

When it first happened, Pablo Vargas and the rest of Lakewood Ranch’s boys soccer team and fans weren’t thrilled.

A yellow card for chirping at the referee late in Friday’s Class 5A state semifinal meant Vargas, one of the Mustangs’ two deadly forwards, needed to exit at a critical juncture.

But just seconds after he rejoined the biggest on-campus boys soccer match in Lakewood Ranch High history, Vargas’ yellow card turned out to be the best present for what followed.

He wasn’t tightly marked upon re-entering the match, broke free into lots of space off a throw-in and slotted in the eventual match-winner to send the home side and his teammates into a frenzy with Lakewood Ranch’s 4-3 victory over visiting Sanford Seminole.

“You’re normally marked right away,” Vargas said. “But I guess since I got subbed in, then I had a lot of space which gave me the opportunity to score the goal. ... You don’t get lucky like that and it was pretty exciting.”

The Mustangs (20-2-1) head to the Class 5A state title game on Saturday, Feb. 18, against Weston Cypress Bay, which knocked off Vero Beach 1-0 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Kickoff is slated for a 4 p.m. start. It’s the first time in program history that the Mustangs will play for a boys soccer state title.

“They countered everything we did,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Vito Bavaro said. “We overloaded on one side, they came back and overloaded on the other side. They were a good team. We just came out on top. We played hard and we got the right bounces.”

There were so many crucial moments, and heroes, in Friday’s tilt with Sanford Seminole, which fell to 24-3-3.

Both teams provided thrills at almost every turn, including a frantic, breakneck final 28 minutes.

Six goals were scored between the two sides in those last 28 minutes.

In the first half, Vargas had two chances to put the Mustangs on top that curled just wide and over the net, while Seminole’s Ashton Neff’s flick just missed for the visitors.

Then in the 38th minute, Lakewood Ranch got its first lead when Anthony Hroncich lobbed a ball over the top of Seminole’s defense.

Teammate Tyler Puhalovich threw his head toward the ball and a glancing touch went past Seminole keeper Noah Smith.

But the first 90 seconds of the second half, Lakewood Ranch’s lead was nearly vanquished off a set piece.

Nicholas Brahmbhatt rose to meet the corner feed, delivering a header from point-blank range that Mustangs keeper Ryan Freeman parried away.

“I was just fortunate to get a hand to it and my reactions were good enough to save it,” Freeman said. “I was kind of lucky.”

Freeman’s save, despite it coming just two minutes into the second period, proved to be a decider in the match’s outcome.

That’s because Vargas’ assist to Ricky Yanez for a two-goal lead in the 52nd minute was a harbinger for what transpired in the last 28 minutes.

No lead was safe.

Lakewood Ranch saw that two-goal margin trimmed in half just a minute after Yanez scored. A minute later, a plea for a handball in the box to give the Mustangs a penalty wasn’t called.

Three minutes after that, defender Daniel Rocco delivered an inch-perfect pass along the left wing to winger Sam Stapleton-Jones, who slid a cross into open space for a lunging Connor Bezet to meet for the team’s third goal.

“I looked up before I hit it,” Stapleton-Jones said. “And I saw Bezet coming in at the back post. And I thought if I just loft it to him, he could get a foot and put it in the back of the net.”

That score regained the two-goal margin.

Four minutes later, Seminole closed to within one off a free kick delivery that Brahmbhatt flicked home.

And with 10 minutes remaining, Seminole’s best chance at an equalizer squirted just wide of Freeman’s net.

A late penalty two minutes from time following Vargas’ insurance goal meant a one-goal victory for Lakewood Ranch.

Co-captain and starting center back Nate Ellis was subbed off in the 35th minute and didn’t return. Bavaro said Ellis blew out his shoulder on Thursday, and tried to play through the pain.

Travis Freeman was a rock in the middle upon replacing Ellis along the back line.

“There’s no tear, there’s nothing in it so he’ll be ready to go next week,” Bavaro said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch boys soccer to play for first state championship."