Sports Editor Justin Kline reflects on Plant City and Strawberry Crest’s performances in the Friday, Jan. 27, district championship soccer game.
I have no doubt that last week’s 5A-6 boys soccer championship match was the best between Plant City and Strawberry Crest.
That game had everything you could possibly want from a
sporting event: high stakes, a trophy on the line, players showing their heart, active offenses and
exceptional defensive plays. Although Plant City had already beaten Crest, 2-0, earlier in the season, it was clear Crest had learned from its past mistakes and was ready to give the Raiders all they could handle.
Plant City is, rightfully, going to get a lot of the glory from the
matchup. Besides the fact that the Raiders ended up winning that night, they showed qualities that should have their fans optimistic for the next few weeks. They’re smart, physical and can control the pace of play — all things that matter in the postseason, and all things that got them to their sterling 13-0-1 regular-season record. And, as someone who hand-picks Athlete of the Week honorees, it was good to see a fairly recent selection of mine — Adrian Olivo — make another game-winning kick (albeit in a different sport).
But I don’t want Crest’s effort to go unnoticed. The Chargers were just as hungry for that district title as Plant City was, and I would absolutely not chalk their loss up to something as cliché as, “They were hungry, but Plant City wanted it more in the end.” Penalty kicks are nowhere near as easy as basketball free throws, especially when you’re taking them with the game on the line. This is true of both the goalie and the shooter.
Crest finished the regular season with an 11-5-0 overall record, the program’s best under head coach Devere Archer and the best since the 11-4-1 2012-13 season. That year, the Chargers also made it to
regionals, but lost the first-round game at Seminole.
Since press time, both teams played their regional quarterfinal matchups and had differing outcomes. Plant City once again advanced with some overtime heroics, but Crest lost a 2-1 heartbreaker against Orlando-Freedom. Plant City will host the Patriots at 7 p.m. tomorrow, and I'm sure at least a few Crest fans are out there hoping the other local playoff team can knock Freedom out of the playoffs.
Hats off to Crest for putting together a quality season, and to Plant City for hitting a goal no Raiders team has hit before: finishing a regular season without a loss.
