LAKELAND, Fla. — Winning the Florida High School Soccer State Championship is no easy feat. And the Lakeland Christian girls have done it two years in a row.
The Lakeland Christian Vikings celebrated becoming back-to-back 3A state champions on Wednesday after beating out The Benjamin School Buccaneers 2-1.
But, it certainly wasn't won without a fight.
The game stayed tied up at 0 for the entire first half. The Vikings finally broke away two minutes into the second half, leading junior Kaelyn Diaz to score the first goal of the game.
According to The Lakeland Ledger, the goal was Diaz's 10th of the season. She leads the team in scoring.
The team rode the momentum and added another goal six minutes later, this time scored by junior Ori Gotauco.
The Vikings led 2-0 until 11 minutes later when they gave up one goal to Benjamin.
Ultimately, Lakeland Christian was able to hold into the 2-1 lead, winning the 3A state championship for the second year in a row.
“It’s just super awesome,” LCS senior goalkeeper Breanna Newberg told The Ledger. “Not too many people get to out on a win. To get to do it back-to-back was really special.”
Lakeland Christian's win marks the second year in a row a Polk County team successfully defended a state title. The Bartow High boys basketball team celebrated a second consecutive championship win last year.
