Boys soccer isn’t very deep in Polk County. There are some districts this year where Polk teams likely won’t advance a team to the postseason barring one or two major upsets.
However, Polk does have a couple of teams that are not only ranked No. 1 in the district but they are also No. 1 in the region.
Just as it is in girls soccer, Lakeland Christian in 2A and McKeel in 4A are No. 1 teams in the region and are in a good position to make a deep postseason run, especially if they win district titles that would ensure home-field advantage through the regional tournament.
Here is the breakdown for the boys soccer district tournaments involving Polk teams.
Class 2A, District 7
Teams by seed: No. 1 Lakeland Christian (8-6-2), No. 2 Seffner Christian (6-7-2), No. 3 Foundation Christian (7-5-2), No. 4 All Saints (17-8-1), No. 5 Santa Fe Catholic (8-11), No. 6 Tampa Universal (4-7-4).
Analysis: Lakeland Christian will be an interesting team to watch in the postseason. The Vikings are ranked No. 4 in 2A despite being just two games over .500. They’ve played a strong schedule and were missing key players early in the season. The Vikings are favorites to win the district as No. 2 seed Seffner Christian is ranked No. 30 in 2A. LCS is led by Hale Ottman (seven goals), Adrian Villanueva (five goals) and Trip McLaughlin. The Vikings are seeded first in the region and are a lock for the playoffs. All Saints and Santa Fe will have to win the district title to qualify for the playoffs. Santa Fe is led by Aidan Lausell (17 goals) and Jonathan Earl (six goals). All Saints are led by Jacque St. Germain (nine goals, three assists), Nate Yoder four goals, six assists) and Layton Falk (five goals, one assist). Goalkeeper Jackson Waters has two clean sheets and 158 saves.
Class 3A, District 5
Teams by seed: No. 1 Windermere Prep (11-3-1), No. 2 Orlando Lake Highland Prep (4-5-2), No. 3 Orlando First Academy (3-8), No. 4 Davenport Four Corners (4-10-1), No. 5 Discovery (3-15-1, No. 6 Belle Isle Cornerstone Charter (3-10).
Analysis: Windermere Prep is the heavy favorite to win the district title. Discover is the only Polk team in the district and is led by Bryan Nunez with 14 goals.
Class 3A, District 6
Teams by seed: No. 1 Fort Meade (13-1-2), No. 2 Avon Park (9-3-2), No. 3, Lake Placid (5-5-4), No. 4 Frostproof (11-6-2), No. 5. Riverview Bell Creek (3-11).
Analysis: Fort Meade is the favorite in the district. The Miners’ only loss was to Lakeland, 1-0, and they tied Ridgeview Global and Avon Park. However, Fort Meade could have its hands full in a semifinal matchup against Frostproof. Fort Meade beat Frostproof 3-0 in December but the second meeting two weeks ago was closer with Fort Meade winning 3-2. Fort Meade is led by Alex Bentura (14 goals), Emmanuel Beltran (14 goals) and German Miranda (six goals). Frostproof is led by Miguel Rodriguez and Andrew Garcia. Fort Meade, as the no. 4 seed in the region, is pretty much a lock for the postseason. Frostproof, the no. 14 seed, will have to win the district title to advance.
Class 4A, District 10
Teams by seed: No. 1 McKeel (9-3), no. 2 Tampa Kings (10-10-0), No. 3 Mulberry (8-7-1), No. 4 Tampa Chamberlain (2-9-2), No. 5 Tampa Jefferson (1-10-1).
Analysis: Top-seeded McKeel is a heavy favorite. The Wildcats are ranked No. 9 in 4A, while no. 2 seed King is ranked No. 32. Calvin Steele is McKeel’s top offensive player. He has scored 13 of the team’s 19 goals. Angel Araq has five assists. Mulberry is led by Antonio Montelongo and Andres Jimenez with eight goals apiece. McKeel is no. 1 in the region and is a lock for the postseason.
Class 4A, District 7
Teams by seed: No. 1 Orlando Bishop Moore (17-2), No. 2 Davenport (10-6-1), No. 3 Tavares (8-5-3), no. 4 Eustis (6-8-1), No. 5 Mount Dora (4-10-3), No. 6 Lake Region (3-10).
Analysis: Bishop Moore is ranked No. 3 in 4A and is the heavy favorite to win the district. No. 2 seed Davenport is ranked No. 43 in 4A. Davenport is no. 6 in the region and should advance to the postseason, especially if it reaches the district finals. The Broncos are led by Emmanuel Ramirez with 15 goals.
Class 5A, District 6
Teams by seed: No. 1 Horizon (10-3-4), No. 2 Gateway 11-2-1), No. 3 Auburndale (9-7-3), No. 4 Lake Buena Vista (5-7-4), No. 5 Lake Wales (6-7-4), No. 6 Orlando Jones (0-8), No. 7 Liberty (2-14).
Analysis: Auburndale is the only Polk team in the district with a chance to make the playoffs. The Bloodhounds are seeded No. 9 in the region. A semifinal win over Gateway should be enough to jump over Cypress Creek if Cypress Creek, the No. 3 seed in 5A-7, loses in the semifinals. The Bloodhounds began the season 7-3-1 but are just 2-4-2 since beating Lakeland on Dec. 13. Marc G Mettellus leads Auburndale with 14 goals. Ronel Jasmin has five goals.
Class 6A, District 6
Teams by seed: No. 1 Lake Gibson (12-5-0), No. 2 George Jenkins (6-4), no. 3 Lakeland (13-6), No. 5 Bartow (5-4-1), No. 5 Kathleen (3-9).
Analysis: Lake Gibson is the only Polk team with a chance to make the playoffs if it doesn’t win the district title. The Braves are No. 1 in the district and No. 6 in the region. They beat Jenkins early in the season but haven’t played Lakeland. Chad Johnston leads Lake Gibson with 18 goals and six assists. Christopher Johnson has seven goals and 14 assists, Eisler Garia Barros has six goals and Andres Jerez has 10 assists. George Jenkins defeated Lakeland 3-1 in early January but lost to Lake Gibson in late November 6-1. The Eagles are led by Jarnum Williams with five goals and Brad Pennywell has four goals. Lakeland is led by Jackson Winter and Connor Melvin with 12 goals apiece. Lathan Williamson and Sam Blackwell have eight goals and seven assists. Both Lakeland and Jenkins will have to win the district title to qualify for the playoffs.
Class 7A, District 6
Teams by seed: No. 1 Newsome (15-2), no. 2 Plant City (14-3-1), No. 3 Strawberry Crest (8-2-3), No. 4 Winter Haven (9-4-1), No. 5 Durant (5-6-2), No. 6 Ridge Community (3-7), No. 7 Haines City (2-12).
Analysis: It’s unlikely that a Polk team will advance to the postseason this year. Winter Haven should be able to beat Durant in the first round, which will be overmatched by Newsome, the No. 3 in 7A, in the district semifinals. The Blue Devils, seeded fourth in districts, are the highest-ranked Polk team in the region at No. 18. Winter Haven is led by Anthony Castro with 10 goals and 10 assists, and MacAllister Kranzler Ratcliffe with nine goals and 11 assists. This has been a rebuilding year for Ridge and Haines City.