Manatee County’s boys soccer state title drought dates to 2001. Is this the year it ends?

In 2001, Saint Stephen’s participated in boys soccer in the fall and captured a state title.

It’s the only time a Manatee County program – private or public – has won a state championship in boys soccer.

Traditionally played as a winter sport in Florida, Manatee County teams haven’t generated championship hardware during the winter months.

The Falcons typically boast top teams among the county’s private schools, while Palmetto and Lakewood Ranch have held the standard for the county’s public schools.

But this year?

Saint Stephen’s, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch, Braden River and Out-of-Door Academy are fielding strong squads.

So is this the year for a breakthrough, starting with next week’s district tournaments?

“Over the last 10 years, I think whenever you talk about boys soccer in Manatee County, you always have to talk about Palmetto, you always have to talk about Saint Stephen’s and you always have to talk about us,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Vito Bavaro said. “Other teams are starting to come around.”

The Mustangs (13-1-4) are, arguably, the best public-school team in Manatee County. With many of its players fighting the flu this week, Lakewood Ranch is looking to put a healthy team together for the playoffs.

That, and the fact the nationally ranked Mustangs aren’t blowing teams away like the 2016-17 team that lost in the Class 5A state title game, doesn’t give an indication of getting over the hump this year.

However, anything is possible in the playoffs. Especially with a potent scoring threat in senior forward Pablo Vargas.

Saint Stephen’s (9-1-3) suffered its first loss of the season this week. The Falcons quietly engineered an unbeaten start with just a couple club players.

The difference between this year’s team and the recent past is the cohesiveness.

“There’s just a great unity to the group,” Falcons head coach Marc Jones said. “They all play for each other. They play as a team. They all know what their roles are within the team and they play hard for each other. That’s probably the reason why we’re having such a great year.”

Saint Stephen’s possesses two players with more than 10 goals this season. They are Ben Whorf and Jacob Whorf, who each have 12 goals apiece.

The Falcons’ biggest test in the upcoming Class 1A-District 7 tournament likely will come from ODA (8-6-2), which has played Saint Stephen’s to two close matches this season.

Meanwhile, Palmetto (13-4-3) is the Class 4A-District 11 tournament’s top seed, while Braden River (10-5-2) is No. 2.

The Pirates, who lost once and tied once against Palmetto this season, pulled out a tie with Saint Stephen’s on Thursday to wrap up one of the best regular seasons they’ve ever had.

“Everyone gets along really well with one another,” Braden River head coach Braden Chandler said.

Chandler said the team doesn’t have one superstar on the roster. Instead, the group made up of club players plays as a unit.

“In years past, we’ve always had that one guy that everyone relies on,” Chandler said. “When that person’s not playing well or that person’s injured ... it affects everybody.”

Three of Braden River’s five losses this season are to Lakewood Ranch, which hasn’t lost to a public school this season.

The Mustangs lone defeat was to Tampa Jesuit, a traditional state power, on Jan. 16.

Lakewood Ranch’s lineup saw a big overhaul from the 2017 state runner-up team, losing seven starters to graduation, though Vargas and the keeper tandem of Ryan Freeman and Josh Lavieri are a few of the players who helped last year’s group nearly taste a state championship.

“To plug four brand-new defenders in the back is not easy,” Bavaro said. “We’re lucky that we have a great feeder program and we had a really good JV team last year. I think they only lost a couple games. So those kids were able to step up right into starting positions.”

To get to the consistent level that the Mustangs are at now, Bavaro said he credits the area’s longtime coaches prior to his arrival at Lakewood Ranch, including Jones, former Palmetto High head coach Dustin Dahlquist and former Manatee High head coach Rene Mirandilla.

Palmetto was the first public school in the county to reach a state semifinal, accomplishing the feat in 2009 during Dahlquist’s tenure.

The way Dahlquist’s teams played is something the Mustangs and Bavaro have implemented, and it’s led to their success of late.

Will it pay off with a state title this season? That will be known as the postseason moves along.

The opportunity for a team to secure Manatee County’s first state title since Saint Stephen’s in 2001 is plentiful with so many programs looking primed for deep postseason runs.

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Manatee County’s boys soccer state title drought dates to 2001. Is this the year it ends?."