Lely Falls in Regionals

This time history didn’t repeat itself. For the past two years the Lely boys’ soccer team lost in the district final only to become regional champions. The magic ran out Wednesday, February 9, at Trojan Stadium. After taking a 2-0 lead early in the second half, the Trojans saw Pembroke Pines Charter turn the tables on them. When the final gun sounded, Lely found themselves on the short end of a 5-2 score.

Head coach Robbie Schank saw the loss as a case of missed opportunities, a little bad luck, and finally a change in momentum.

“It was looking pretty good,” said Shank. “We were up 2-0 and we had some opportunities to go up even more. But we missed those opportunities. It kept them in the game. And with a good team like that, you can’t do that. The unfortunate hit off the post that goes off the goalkeeper’s back and goes in. Then they got the penalty kick to tie it and got the momentum. Things went the right way for them. We could have had three goals before they scored their first one. We could have gone up 3,4,5 to nothing. But we didn’t get any of those. The momentum changed.”

While a loss in the first round of the regionals isn’t what he wanted, Schank, the 28-year head coach of the Trojans, was proud of his young 2021-2022 team. He sees the cupboard as full, the future outlook bright.

"This year’s team was the youngest varsity group I’ve ever coached in my career,” Schank said. "It was predominantly underclassmen. I had four seniors, four juniors. It’s just remarkable that we were able to get to where we’re at. This was supposed to be a rebuild.”

Two trips to the state’s final four the past two seasons gave Schank’s young charges a taste of success. It made them want more. They weren’t looking for a district championship, or even a regional championship. They wanted to go all the way. 

"The kids didn’t just want that,” Schank said, referring to the district championship. "They want that state championship ring. They know it’s possible. They’ve lived it. They’ve seen it. They know what it takes. That’s what was special about this group. At least they got to feel the pressure and know what it takes to get to the district championship, and how the seeding works. And how important the wins and losses are during the regular season. And they also got to experience regional play. It’s a whole different animal when you get into the playoffs. So now, what’s nice is Johnathan Garcia and Oscar Perez, Kevin Sanchez and Victor Orantes, the four horsemen seniors from this year’s team, got to give them an insight.  So basically, I’m going to have the same team for the next two or three years.  Basically, what I coached this year was a JV team with four ringers on it. These kids are going to have that much more time and that much more experience.”

The Trojans finished the season at 14-7-2. Pembroke Pines (14-6) advances to the next round of the regional tournament.