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No time of the year beats playoff time, regardless of the sport.
Plant City-area soccer teams are gearing up for both district tournaments at this moment, with the girls awaiting the results of their district finals and the boys looking to take the pitch as early as Monday night.
How have the girls been doing, and what could the boys do?
DURANT
It was a bit of a down year for the Lady Cougars, who regressed from a 9-4-2 (3-3 district) record in 2013 to a 6-8-1 (1-4 district) mark in 2014. Losing several seniors undoubtedly had something to do with that, but the team still had a chance to do something in the district tournament.
In the Saturday, Jan. 10, quarterfinal game against Wharton, Durant found itself down, 2-0, at the end of the first half. The girls’ rally to come back and win was nearly successful, but the offense was only able to produce one goal before time expired.
On the other hand, the Durant boys are just about in line with what they did last season. The 2013 team finished at 7-6-2 (2-2-2 district) and ended up in the 5A regional quarterfinal before losing to Orlando-Freedom, 3-0. This year’s squad currently stands at 5-4-3 (1-3-2 district) and is heating up, outscoring opponents 9-2 over the past two games. They’ll wrap up the season tonight at 8 p.m. at Brandon and enter tournament play on Jan. 20.
PLANT CITY
Fielding the two best teams in the area, Plant City stayed consistent in 2014 and posted two more excellent records: 9-4-2 (5-1-2 district) for the boys, 11-2-1 (7-1 district) for the girls.
The boys aren’t entering the tournament on a high note, coming off of three straight losses to Riverview, Newsome and Plant, but none of those teams are in the district. That bodes well for the Raiders, whose only 4A-9 loss was to East Bay Nov. 14. The two higher seeds, Hillsborough and King, are also one-loss teams in district play, but Plant City has outscored them, 3-1, this season.
The Lady Raiders have been district favorites (and champions) for three years running, and they look to keep the streak alive in 2014 with a high-powered offense that averages five goals per game. The catch is, they’ll face East Bay (12-2-1; 8-0 district) in tonight’s championship game at Plant City High School. The Lady Raiders’ only district loss this season came at the hands of none other than the Lady Indians, 1-0, at home. Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. and fans could be treated to a classic.
STRAWBERRY CREST
Last year’s Lady Chargers team went 0-5-1 in the district under coach Ebony Robinson. This year, Robinson has led the girls to a 2-4 district record and district tournament win.
The Jan. 10, 5-2 win over Bloomingdale didn’t look so good in the first half, when the Lady Bulls went into the locker room with a 1-0 lead. Crest, however, fired off five goals in the second half to take command, and built up some nice momentum. But that momentum was halted when they lost, 8-0, to Newsome Jan. 13.
Entering the season with a new coach, Devere Archer, the Strawberry Crest boys were able to improve where it counts the most. They took their record from 7-4-3 (1-2-3 district) in 2013 to 5-6-1 (2-4 district) so far in 2014. Wins over Wharton and Durant moved the team up to fourth place in the district, and the Chargers were able to shake off a recent 8-0 loss at Steinbrenner with a 5-1 win over Lennard Jan. 9. They’ll close their season tonight, hosting Tampa Bay Tech at 7 p.m., and enter tournament play Jan. 20.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
BE THERE FOR THE BOYS
Class 5A – District 6 tournament:
Newsome High School — play begins 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23.
Class 4A – District 9 tournament:
Lennard High School — play begins 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23.