THREE-PEAT: Lakewood Ranch soccer team wins third consecutive title

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Delaney Riggins spent the past week trying to make up for lost time.

After missing the majority of the season with a broken collarbone and torn ligaments in her ankle, the sophomore forward, who has played in only five games this season, returned to the field in time for the district tournament. And it didn’t take long for Riggins to make her presence known.

After scoring the Lady Mustangs lone goal in both the district quarterfinals and semifinals, Riggins scored a pair of goals off assists by freshman Tyler “Flash” Gordon in the first half, helping propel Lakewood to 2-0 victory over Manatee Jan. 21 in the Class 4A-District 11 championship game.

“It was good luck,” Riggins said. “The whole offense was pressuring and Tyler (Gordon) made amazing crosses. It was pretty simple for me to hit it in. Tyler and I — we really work well together.”

It was Lakewood’s third consecutive district title and its ninth in 12 years.

“We have a great combination between our freshman and sophomore,” Lakewood coach Guy Virgilio said. “We call Tyler ‘Flash’ because she is so fast that, sometimes, she’s like a wild stallion out there. I’m definitely looking forward to the next three years of having her on the team. She did a fantastic job tonight.”

With the win, Lakewood (15-4-2) played host to District 12 runner-up Barron Collier in a Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinal Jan. 25. The winner will advance to the regional semifinals Jan. 27 and will face the winner of the regional quarterfinal between Cape Coral Ida Baker and Manatee.

Results from the Lady Mustangs regional quarterfinal match were unavailable as of press time Tuesday. Check www.YourObserver.com for results.

Lakewood pressured early and dominated for much of the game, finishing with 13 shots — six of which were on goal. Manatee goalkeeper Lauren Cox finished with four saves.

The Lady Mustangs held the Lady Hurricanes to just four shots — two of which were on goal. Lakewood goalkeeper Alexandra Latham, who earned her 13th shutout of the season, had two saves for the Lady Mustangs.

Lakewood took the lead with a little less than 14 minutes remaining in the first half and added its second goal nine minutes later.

“Obviously they did a great job,” Lakewood coach Guy Virgilio said of Manatee. “They tried to stop us, but our girls were coming and put the pressure on. I’m just glad we were able to sneak a couple of goals past them.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].