AUBURNDALE — Lakeland Christian kept alive its streak of reaching the state tournament, now at 15 years in a row, but for the second year in a row, the Vikings could not get out of the state semifinals.
LCS, however, did get a bit further than last year when it lost in the second overtime, about five minutes before the game would have gone to penalty kicks.
Two teams couldn’t have been more evenly matched as Lakeland Christian and West Palm Beach King’s Academy battled to a scoreless tie after regulation and two overtime periods, and the teams were still tied after the first round of penalty kicks.
The match was finally decided when King’s Academy goalkeeper Sabrina Callejas blocked Kennedy Herdel’s penalty kick and Coco Joos followed by connecting other penalty kick to lift the Lions over the Vikings, 5-4, on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the 2026 FHSAA Class 2A Girls Soccer State Championships at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex.
“We’ve had a really successful season,” LCS junior defender Finley Traffanstedt said. “We were fighting. We faced so much adversity, and we kept going. And the fact that we got here it’s like really good. I don’t even know. It’s just for us to play stronger and harder next year.”
Lakeland Christian coach Jason Streets couldn’t have asked for more in terms of the effort his team gave.
“We knew it was going to be a hard one,” Streets said. “I thought the team defensively played great. We just could not break through like we would. Hats off. That was a very good team. You can see why they have now 18 shutouts on the year. But the flip side is we shut them out, which was awesome.”
Defense stands tall
The defensive effort starts with Traffanstedt, who man-marked Lions leading scorer Mia Mackrey, who has 37 goals. Traffanstadt, who gives up a few inches to the taller Mackrey, wore down her opponent and held her in check.
“It’s definitely scary trying to man mark someone the whole game because it’s not a playing style I’m used to,” Traffanstedt said. “But I gained confidence as I started winning the ball and learning how she played, so it was definitely good to have a challenge.”
At one point in the game, the Lions moved Mackrey back to holding mid.
“I thought Finley did a great job on her and had her frustrated,” Streets said.
Traffanstadt also marked Lola Hathorne who was the Lions’ other top offensive player. But it also was a strong defensive unit that kept the game scoreless. Kendall Reber, Brooklyn Strawbridge and Herdel along with Traffanstedt formed a big wall in front of goalkeeper Aubrey Francks, who was spectacular in goal.
“My back line did a great job,” Streets said. “Even when 7 (Hathorne) would get, through, we would get somebody to her or we would get a block or a piece. The frustration for us was we just could not break through that back line.”
Missed Opportunities
Lakeland Christian’s best two scoring chances came in the second half with under 20 minutes to play. On the first, the ball was fed to Coleman who got a step behind the defense and was a step from getting around Callejas, who was all the way out at the top of the 18-yard box. Coleman nearly got behind Callejas and would have had an open goal but Callejas was able to clear the ball way.
About seven minutes later, LCS played was the ball high over everybody and it bounced in between two LCS players and Callejas. The Lions goalkeeper headed the ball away just barely before Williams could get her head on it.
In overtime, Reber hit a perfect corner kick but the Lions were able to clear.
On the penalty kicks, LCS missed its first attempt then Strawbridge, Liberty Allen, Emmy Lowery and Williams all made their shots. The Lions sent a shot on their fourth attempt over the crossbar.
What’s next?
Streets already is looking forward to next season. Although LCS loses a Division I defender in EC Bentley, she missed the match with an injury so the entire defensive unit that played on Tuesday will return. The only player who played in the match that the Vikings will lose is Ellie Cox, who was second in goals this season.
“My hope is to be able to move some of the girls who’ve been playing in the back into an attacking role, and I think Emmy Lowry is one who could do that,” Streets said. “Emma Wilkinson, I think she can get us some goals next year. Obviously, Allie will be another year older as a sophomore. She’ll be a handful, and Katie (Coleman) will be a junior. I’ve got some seventh- and eighth-graders on my JV coming up who could be really beneficial to us. We’ve got a foundation for next year to grow. I’m excited.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: King’s Academy finally subdues Lakeland Christian on PKs in state semis
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
