Plant City High School’s boys soccer team likes to say its members are “all-in” when it comes to the game. They’ve even got the poker chips to show for it.
On game days, every Raider carries around their own personalized chip as a reminder. They’ll dig into their pockets for something else, find the chips and remember what they have to go out and do on the field. Before games, all of the chips are “turned in” to the team’s coaches as a gambler would to the dealer at a poker table.
They’re betting on themselves — figuratively speaking — every time they lace up and take the soccer field. No matter what happens Saturday afternoon, the last time they’ll go “all-in” this season, one thing will be certain: no Raiders soccer team has ever been as successful as the close-knit 2017-18 team is.
“These guys work harder than anybody I’ve coached before,” head coach Caleb Roberts said. “They refuse to lose. They literally think they can win every game they’re part of.”
Before Feb. 14, no Raiders team had ever made it out of regionals and booked a state championship series berth. Ricardo Rosales, Rex Lott and Paulino Ramirez got tired of waiting and changed that with goals in a 3-1 win over Palm Harbor University High School. Then, in the Raiders’ first state semifinal game, goals from Eric “Peanut” Ugarte and Epifanio Castro led to a 2-1 road win over Seminole to set up Saturday’s showdown at Stetson University. The boys are now playing for what could be the school’s first state championship in any sport since boys basketball won in 1982.
Plant City’s success in the 2017-18 season can’t be understated. The Raiders, ranked third in the state and 14th in the nation on MaxPreps.com, average just over four goals per game and have outscored opponents, 83-15, throughout the season. The team’s defense and goaltending has been especially solid through the playoffs, as Plant City hasn’t allowed more than one goal in any of the six games — thus giving the offense more confidence to attack and average 3.3 goals per game.
Ugarte, a senior forward, leads the team with 21 goals and 53 points, and is just a tenth of a point shy from tying for the lead in assists (0.6) per game. But he’s far from the only Raider capable of putting goals on the board: only two Raiders have yet to find the back of the net, and eight Raiders — more than half of the field players — have scored at least five goals this season. Castro, a sophomore, leads the team with 13 assists, though the team itself has combined for a total of 50 on the season.
Ugarte and his teammates believe they’re skilled enough physically and tough enough mentally to beat anybody. After tasting defeat against Newsome in the district finale, the group decided that wouldn’t happen again if they could help it.
“Learning from that, I think we just came back harder and stronger,” Ugarte said. “It paid off in regional semifinals when we played them and showed that we didn’t want to have that feeling again.”
Roberts couldn’t have asked for a better rebounding effort by the team after that game. The Raiders bounced back from the 2-1 district championship loss against Newsome with a 2-1 regional semifinal win just eight days later.
“That was the game that propelled us forward, a loss. It’s hard to say that,” Roberts said. “But Newsome’s a great team. I have a lot of respect for their team and their coach.”
Facing the Miami Beach Hi-Tides will be no easy task, though. While the Raiders have a better winning percentage, as Miami Beach has lost two and tied once, the Hi-Tides offense has scored 30 more goals in 10 more games, and have outscored opponents in the playoffs by a margin of 20-4. Most recently, the Hi-Tides’ offense tore up Celebration’s defense, 7-2, in their Feb. 17 state semifinal game.
With that in mind, the Raiders are ready to represent their school, their city and Hillsborough County on Florida’s biggest stage.
“We’re all 100% in,” Ugarte says. “We’re all-in.”