Lakeland Christian has been the top girls soccer team for most of the past decade. Since 2008, the Vikings are undefeated against All Saints, Fort Meade, Auburndale, Lake Wales, Lakeland and Bartow with one tie against Lake Wales and one against Lakeland.
LCS has one loss to Santa Fe Catholic back in 2008, with a tie in 2009 and hasn’t lost to Winter Haven since 2008, although the Blue Devils have managed three ties with the last coming 2016. And the Vikings haven lost to George Jenkins since 2011 with a tie coming in 2014.
Only McKeel has had recent success against LCS with a three-match win streak from 2015 to 2017, and the two teams have tied four times since then.
So is the four-time state champion still the No. 1 girls soccer team in Polk County? Let’s take a look at Polk County’s top eight teams.
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Until someone beats them, the GHSAA Class 2A No. 3 Vikings remain No. 1 in the county. McKeel rallied to tie LCS when the teams met in December. The Vikings played part of the second half down a player.
Lakeland Christian’s losses are to 3A-No. 1 Montverde, 3A-No. 2 Lakeland Highland Prep and 1A-No. 1 St. Johns Christian. LCS played 2A-No. 2 P.K. Yonge to a scoreless tie on Saturday. The Vikings have wins over Santa Fe Catholic, All Saints, Auburndale, Lake Wales and Lakeland and will play George Jenkins in late January.
LCS plays shutdown defense led by center back Halle Johnson and Grace Hames and goalkeeper Mackenzie Marotz. Mari Carr leads with 10 goals. Hames has eight assists and Johnson has seven assists. Ella Williams has four goals and six assists, and EC Bentley has four goals coming off the bench. LCS’s offense took a hit when Ellie Cox sustained a season-ending injury. She had three goals in the first five matches.
The Wildcats could very well be the top Polk team as they are ranked slightly higher than LCS in the power rankings. They have defeated Santa Fe Catholic, All Saints and Lake Wales and face Auburndale and Jenkins later this month. McKeel is ranked No. 5 in 3A and No. 3 in 3A, Region 2, but the top two teams in the region are powerhouses Montverde and Lake Highland Prep.
They have a strong attack with 52 goals in 11 matches, led by Ava Chevalier (9 G, 5 A), Trinity Pierce (8 G, 3 A), Madeleine Ibarra-Lopez (6 G, 4 A), Abigail Lovelady (9 G, 3 A), Natalie Medina (4 G, 4 A) and Abby Shannon (4 G).
The Eagles are undefeated with just the three ties but are just No. 5 in 7A, Region 2 with the lowest strength of schedule among the top eight teams in the region. Jenkins will boost its schedule strength when it plays McKeel and Lakeland Christian later this month. The Eagles’ best win has come against Auburndale (1-0) and it has tied Santa Fe and Victory. Sophomores Eliot Losinski (13 goals) and Katie Maurer (7 goals) have been a 1-2 scoring punch. Lily Spurgin (5 goals), Georgiana Strawbridge (4 goals) and Kendall Reber have also been key players. Lily Sarris is one of the top keepers in the county.
The Saints might have the best chance after Lakeland Christian to reach the final four. They are ranked No. 2 in the region with the second-toughest strength of schedule among the top eight teams in the region. The Saints played LCS tough in a 2-1 loss and has a 4-0 win over Lakeland. Kaya Carll (12 goals, 9 assists) and Lindsey Allen (12 goals, 1 assist) lead the offense with Aaliyah Rodriguez (7 goals, 8 assists), and Anya Riskin (3 goals, 11 assists).
The Storm are 8-0-1 over their last nine games, including a big win over Santa Fe Catholic on Monday. They played with a lot of energy in upsetting Santa Fe Victory is No. 5 in the 1A-2 region and likely will battle All Saints for the district title.
Sylvia Fullwood has been big offensively with 20 goals Lemmond, the top defender in the county, see time on offense end has 12 goals with 13 assists. Amber Choquette plays center back next to Lemmond to form a shutdown duo in front of goalkeeper Kati Nickel. Rylieght McInnes and Lauren Andrew are important outside defenders. Hayden Fullwood helps with defense as the main defensive midfielder and also has eight goals. Jordyn Williams and Bella Burke each have seven goals, and Sydney Kratky has six goals with seven assists..
The Crimson Hawks are having a great season at 10-0-1 — tying Jenkins — after dropping their first two matches of the season to county powers Lakeland Christian and McKeel before losing on Monday to Victory Christian. They were missing midfielder Copeland Collany and top defender Arden Keyser. Santa Fe is ranked No. 10 in Class 2A.
The Crimson Hawks are in one of the toughest regions as they are in the same region as LCS. As the current third seed, they would face perennial powerhouse Berkeley Prep in the regional semifinals. Sophomore Kendall Freeland has been a prolific goal scorer, and Audrey Slater (7 goals, 8 assists), Eliana Diederichs (5 goals, 4 assists) and Collany (4 goals, 4 assists) and Ansley Laurel have been top players.
The Bloodhounds won four straight before losing to Mariner on Friday. They are seeded No. 4 in the county. In addition to playing without one of the top players in the county in Makenna Battilla, who is rehabbing an injury, Auburndale has lost two starters to injuries. Alaney Hancock leads with seven goals, and Adrienne Cardona-Colon has five goals and has been strong on both sides of the ball. Defender Amber Cardona-Colon is now 100 percent having played her first 80-minute game over the weekend. Grace Carpenter (4 goals) and Layla Williams have also been key players.
The Dreadnaughts have wins over Lake Wales, Winter Haven and Victory Christian (2-1) in the season opener but will be hard pressed to make the playoffs without winning a district title. They are currently the No. 10 team in 6A, Region 2 and the No. 2 team in the district behind Bloomingdale. Hilda Curtis and Sara Corrigan leads with six goals. Naomi Garner and Megan Volpe are other key players.
