Vikings Blitz Hawks To Win Championship

THE LEDGER

LAKELAND | When Lakeland Christian sophomore Sydney Rayborn finally netted a goal early in the second half against Santa Fe Catholic in the Class 1A, District 6 title game on Friday night, she threw out a fist pump with her right hand.

 

Her goal wasn't the game-winner — Lakeland Christian was up 3-0 by that point — but it was Rayborn's first decent shot at the net since being heavily marked all night by Santa Fe, which stacked the box against Lakeland Christian in an attempt to slow down its scorers.

 

The strategy frustrated the Vikings, Rayborn in particular, but not enough to slow them down en route to their second consecutive district title, a 6-0 win over Santa Fe. The Vikings got goals from Rayborn, Ellen Sharpe, Mallory White, Chloe Wineinger and two from Josie Koretchko.

 

Lakeland Christian will play host to a regional quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, while Santa Fe hits the road for its playoff game.

 

Santa Fe switched things up for Friday's game in an attempt to slow Lakeland Christian down on offense. In three previous matches this season, the Vikings won handily by scores of 7-0, 8-0 and 6-0.

 

It worked for a little bit.

 

"It caught us by surprise," Lakeland Christian coach Jason Streets said. "The girls were really frustrated at the half."

 

Especially Rayborn, who one teammate said is normally pretty chatty during games.

 

"She wasn't talking as much as she does," Koretchko said. "You could definitely see the relief after she scored."

 

Santa Fe had few opportunities to score, only firing off four shots on goal throughout. One reason for that was Andrea Ramirez. She typically plays forward for the Crimson Hawks, but was at sweeper on Friday instead.

 

After the game, Ramirez said she wasn't disappointed in the final score mainly because the game lasted the entire two halves.

 

"One time they mercy-ruled us, so to come out here and throw them off a little bit was encouraging," said Ramirez, a senior.

 

"Plus the sticking point for me this year is to help get this team ready for next season. We've got a lot of young players and if I can leave them with a few tricks of the game then I'm happy."