Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
The Highlander boys soccer squad posed with their biggest accomplishment in years, the District Championship Trophy, after defeating Middleton 6-1 on Thursday night at Legion Field. The squad will host the Satellite Scorpions on Tuesday in the first round of the Regional tournament.
Riding high on the emotional juice of their first district title in years, the Lake Wales High School Highlanders will host round one of the regional championship tournament Tuesday at Legion Field in Lake Wales.
The local squad took the district title with a convincing 6-1 victory over Middleton Thursday evening before hundreds of joyous fans. Middleton had previously knocked off the district's top-seeded team, Lake Region, by a 4-2 score.
The Highlanders will next face the Satellite Scorpions (9-5-2), who lost their district game the same night, falling to Merritt Island by a 2-1 score. Despite the third-place finish in their east-coast district, the Scorpions cling to a national ranking as the 262nd best team. The Highlanders are ranked 797 nationally.
Senior Captains Benjamin Torres and Manny Mojica celebrated by ;posing with the District Championship trophy following their blow-out win in the title game.
The Highlanders moved to 10-8-1 record on the season, powered by an offensive outburst, scoring 19 goals over their last five matches while amassing seven straight wins at home. They have won six of their matches this season by three or more goals.
Striker Martin Aguilar pulled off the proverbial "hat trick," scoring three goals during the District championship game.
Assistant Varsity Head Coach Mehki Williams expressed some concern about Tuesday's upcoming match after one of his defenders fell ill with an apparent flu bug and is now questionable for the game. Williams is hopeful that the bug won't be spreading among his players prior to the match.
The quarterfinal game will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Legion Field and is open to the public. Williams is hoping that the squad's winning streak will continue to win the support of area fans, who turned out in force for the district championship.
Assistant head coach coach Mehki Williams, (L) head coach Heather Romanosky, and coach Alex Paez flank senior goalkeeper Mason Unzueta and junior goalkeeper Joseph Kralik as they hold the district trophy they won Thursday night at Legion Field.
Lake Region, which also earned a place in the regional tournament by virtue of their record, will face Clermont Tuesday. If both Polk County teams prevail in their matches, Lake Region could return to face Lake Wales at Legion Field. If Clermont wins, Lake Wales will have to travel for the match against that squad.
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