SOCCER

American Heritage girls soccer falls to Lakeland Christian in 3A state championship

Special to The Post

DELAND — American Heritage girls soccer fell just short a state championship, falling to Lakeland Christian in the Class 3A girls soccer state championship game Wednesday night.

It was the Stallions' first state championship appearance since 2015, and they were seeking their first state title since 2014.

Instead, Lakeland Christian won the first state title in program history, scoring three unanswered goals in a 4-2 win over the Stallions at Spec Martin Stadium.

“It is the most exciting thing,” LCS coach Jason  Streets said. “Being here 17 years and being in this game for the fifth time, it’s just something we’ve wanted for so long. It’s so surreal because of the senior class. This senior class just loves so much. They love each other, they love this team. To win it with this group is perfect. I can’t say enough about it.”

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Lakeland Christian's rally began when Streets moved Ramsey Watkins from center back to midfield, leaving Eden Guynn to team with Gretchen Caswell to hold down the defense.

Watkins, who assisted on the tying goal, immediately woke up the LCS attack, and provided the spark that led to the comeback.

Lakeland Christian's Karis Gibson tries to center the ball before American Heritage's Ciara Alarcon can break up the play during the first half on Wednesday night in the 2021 FHSAA Class 3A Girls Soccer Championship at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.

Seven minutes after American Heritage took a 2-1 lead, the Vikings' pressure paid off.

Watkins sent in a shot that deflected off of the goalkeeper. Carnes battled in front and put the ball in the net to tie score.

“Once we tied it, we dominated,” Streets said. “The last 20 minutes, we dominated. They didn’t even get a shot on goal.”

LCS, on the other hand, had shots and capitalized.

Sophomore Maddie Lopez used her speed to make a charge and buried her chance with just over 17 minutes to play to give LCS (22-1-1) the winning goal.

Sophomore Carly Sabat ended American Heritage's hopes with about 10 minutes to play, turning a pass from Carnes into her second goal of the match.

Lakeland Christian's Katie Carnes tries to dribble past American Heritage's Aalihay Plummer on Wednesday night in the 2021 FHSAA Class 3A Girls Soccer Championship at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.

Sabat scored her first goal when Watkins' free kick went over the players lined up in front of the goal and Sabat was able to win it in the middle of the scrum and push the ball into net after getting around the keeper.

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American Heritage then began to take control. The Stallions (14-1-1) tied the score six minutes later on a shot by Cheyenne Lam.

The Stallions kept the momentum to start the second half and took a 2-1 lead. Isabella Larriu's shot from a sharp angle went by the outstretched fingers of goalkeeper Breanna Newberg, hit the far post then deflected into the goal.

But the Stallions couldn't hold off the Lakeland Christian rally.