SW FL Soccer Finals: Hat trick powers Lely to boys title

A roundup of district soccer matches from Friday, Jan. 23 to Wednesday, Jan. 28:

MONDAY

District 4A-12 Boys

Lely 3, Naples 2: For his entire high school career, Ty Collins has been waiting.

Sporting a Lely uniform, Collins hadn’t been able to score on his brother, Dariece. The Naples goalkeeper has had Ty’s number for each of the last three seasons, not conceding a goal despite having played 320 minutes of soccer on opposite squads.

That changed emphatically Monday night.

Collins was clutch in the biggest game of his senior year thus far, netting a hat trick against his former team to secure the Class 4A-District 12 championship over the Golden Eagles, 3-2.

“I think I said it last week,” Collins said. “I’ve never scored on him ever, in my life. That’s probably my greatest moment in my high school career. Four years ago, I scored a game-winning goal for them (Naples) in the regional championship. Just an amazing moment.

“Great kids. We graduated 14 seniors, and we’re back here again. We actually lost to them in the district championship. Just had to come back and get the win.”

In a game that featured 20 MPH winds and near 40 MPH wind gusts, the Trojans were unable to capitalize in the first half with the wind at their backs. Naples had one of the better chances in the first, with Sebastian Mastronardi nearly getting one to go, but saw it tail off to the right side, away from the outstretched arms of Lely keeper Connor Alexich. 

“We have two phenomenal teams, and neither of us got a chance to play soccer tonight,” Lely coach Robbie Schank said. “We just had to grit it out, and fortunately for us, we’re district champions. I can’t be any more grateful for the effort that we put in. That mental thing with the wind is crazy, 30, 45 mile per hour wind gusts coming through here.”

Right out of halftime, Collins went to work, capitalizing on the first of multiple Naples miscues by the back line to beat his brother and go up 1-0. A mere 15 minutes later, Collins got inside the 6-yard box and put one off the right post and in to double the lead in the 57th minute.

Naples responded immediately, as Mastronardi scored in very short order before the second half water break to cut the deficit by one. After weaving through the Lely back line, Andrew Espinoza Nava froze Alexich, going to the right post despite running to his left to level the game at 2-all.

In the midst of all that, Alexich had two critical saves at point blank range to prevent Naples from tying the game sooner, one of his double digit saves on the night.

Just as the game had been looking to go to extra time, Collins saw his opportunity, forcing a turnover, weaving past the back line again, and getting a shot on the near post past Dariece to go as the Trojans managed to hoist a district trophy just moments later.

“He’s had a couple milestones recently,” Schank said. “He got baptized, then broke the school record, single season goals record by Richie Louis, who had 30… He’s right up there with the Lely greats, Richie Louis, David Gomez, Nano (Garcia), Kener Herrera, all those greats played for me. But today there was a bigger character. Ty had never scored on Dariece.”

The Trojans (14-3-4) will have at least one, if not two home games, come regionals. Naples (12-6-0) is all but surely hitting the road despite being the region’s top seed, set to take on the winner of Hudson and Countryside.

“It was insane, but we got the job done and have home field advantage,” Schank said. “There’s nothing better than beating one of your closest friends. I have a lot of respect for Bob (Prange). He brings out the best of me and I know I bring out the best in him. Nothing to take away from them, but it just feels really good to be the champ tonight.

“There’s preseason, there’s regular season, and there’s Lely season. Here we are, running into the postseason. I couldn’t be more blessed to be the Lely coach this year.”

— Alex Martin

District 6A-12 Girls

Charlotte 4, Palmetto Ridge 1: Palmetto Ridge's quest of winning back-to-back titles was dashed by the Tarpons. Delaney Craig scored the Bears' lone goal.

SATURDAY

District 5A-12 Girls

Gulf Coast 4, Riverdale 2: The Sharks secured back-to-back titles under Dustin Black to punch their ticket to the postseason. In the loss for Riverdale, Christela Daniel scored both goals, with an assist coming from Natalie Grant.

FRIDAY

District 5A-12 Boys

Golden Gate 3, South Fort Myers 0: District tournaments have been quite friendly to the Golden Gate soccer team as of late.

But facing a stout South Fort Myers team that had lost just one match dating back to Nov. 18, the Titans were going to be challenged.

As they have most of the year, the Titans (13-1-2) passed that test and punched their ticket to the postseason, securing their fifth district title in the past six seasons with a 3-0 win over the second-seeded Wolfpack.

“It was a great team win,” Golden Gate coach Andy Hernandez said. “The team was very hungry, they wanted it from the start. They were knocking on the door, couldn’t get a goal in early, but they just kept going. We finally got one to go, and then snuck a second one in the first half.

“They just come in, put in the work, and have that winning mentality. They don’t want to lose, especially in this district… We were moved out of the other district these past few years, and took care of business here.”

Golden Gate put the pressure on in the final 10 minutes before the first half water break, peppering South Fort Myers goalkeeper David Acevedo with plenty of shot attempts, but none seemed to go in.

In the 33rd minute, the Titans finally broke through with a missile from Christian Guevara Zuniga from just outside the 18-yard box, before George Barrueco beat his defender and skirted a shot past Acevedo to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.

“Before the game, I felt really confident we were going to come out on top,” Barrueco said. “It was just a matter of time. I had a couple of chances up there early, and I had to keep my head up and keep going. I knew they couldn’t stop me.”

Barrueco would add his team-leading 24th goal of the season in the second half, while the Titan backline kept South Fort Myers forward Enzo Elies (19 goals, 4 assists) in check. It was only the fifth shutout for Golden Gate, but was a big positive, especially with multiple starters out due to either injury or club obligations.

Golden Gate will be guaranteed a first-round home game and are vying for the No. 3 seed alongside Seminole Osceola in Class 5A-Region 3. South Fort Myers (10-5-2), which entered district play 60 spots behind Braden River for the No. 8 seed, likely saw its season end in Collier County Friday night.

“I know that in the first round we’ll get home field, but now, these games are going to be close,” Hernandez said. “It’s win or go home, and whoever’s in it to win it from the beginning, from the start to the end, we’ll see how it goes.”

— Alex Martin

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SW Florida boys and girls soccer FHSAA district championship results