One of the longest championship streaks in all of Florida high school sports came to an end on Wednesday in DeLand.
Lakeland Christian used two goals with less than 10 minutes to play to topple giant St. Johns Country Day at Spec Martin Stadium. The loss ended the most revered championship streak in the major team sports in area history.
St. Johns was aiming for its 12th consecutive title, a number that is already a state record. Instead, the Vikings, who dropped down from Class 3A to 2A this year, won their third straight state title and set the tone for the newest rivalry in girls soccer to continue into 2024.
“I think we’re a victim of our own success, to be honest with you, because everyone just assumes that we’re going to win,” said St. Johns coach Mike Pickett. “And so, the pressure on these kids is astronomical. The social [media] pressure of reading a tweet from a news person saying, ‘Oh, they’re gonna win. They’re going to win their 412th.’ It’s hard.”
The Spartans had a 59-game regional and state playoff winning streak dating back to the beginning of their championship run in the 2011-12 season. They’d beaten Lakeland Christian in four of those title games, with three of those victories in tough, 1-0 games.
The Vikings figured to be the one to finally solve the Spartans. Pickett said earlier in the week that Lakeland Christian had to be considered the favorite coming in. The Vikings, with 13 seniors, had claimed the last two 3A crowns and had played a monster of a schedule in preparing for St. Johns in the final.
With less than 10 minutes left in a scoreless game, Lily Harrington hooked in a direct kick goal off a corner kick to put Lakeland Christian in front. She added a second goal not long after that to put the Vikings in front 2-0.
The Spartans got their lone goal from Cece Nowicki with under a minute to play, but they couldn’t add the equalizer. Pickett said there’s a renewed motivation to get back and get to work.
“It’s been a challenge to motivate teams when you’ve won 10 and 11 in a row,” Pickett said. “What are your what do you keep saying to them? So, I told my team afterwards, well, now we have motivation.”