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Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..
Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Updated: February 2, 2023 @ 5:45 pm
Mallory Mushlit of Lecanto, left, heads upfield with the ball as Alydia Black of Citrus gives chase during a match earlier this season. Boys and girls soccer district tournament play begins Wednesday and run through next week, as local teams fight to reach the playoffs. The matchups for the eight area teams were announced Monday.
Mallory Mushlit of Lecanto, left, heads upfield with the ball as Alydia Black of Citrus gives chase during a match earlier this season. Boys and girls soccer district tournament play begins Wednesday and run through next week, as local teams fight to reach the playoffs. The matchups for the eight area teams were announced Monday.
MATT PFIFFNER / Sports editorThe final boys and girls high school soccer rankings of the regular season were released Monday, which also meant that the district tournament brackets could be built. All eight county soccer teams now know the path they need to take to make it out of district play and reach the regional playoffs.
The district champions automatically advance to regionals, while the top four ranked teams in each region not to win a district title also make it out.
Lecanto will host the boys and girls District 5A-4 tournaments and the Panthers are the No. 2 seed in both brackets.
The Panther girls are ranked 18th overall in Class 5A and are seeded second to 17th-ranked Vanguard. The Panthers (14-3) received a first-round bye and will face No. 3 seed Leesburg (8-7-3) on Monday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m.
Citrus (6-11-2) is seeded fifth and meets No. 4 Belleview (8-7) Wednesday in Lecanto at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals Monday against top-seeded Vanguard (14-3-1).
In the boys District 5A-4 tournament, No. 2 Lecanto (9-5-2) will face third-seeded Citrus (8-5-4) in a semifinal on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. The county rivals tied in their first meeting this season, 1-1, while Lecanto won the second match 1-0.
The other semifinal will have No. 1 Belleview (9-4-3) playing either Vanguard or Leesburg.
The Crystal River boys and girls are in District 4A-5 and both of those tournaments will begin this week at The Villages Charter School.
The Pirate girls (2-18) are seeded fourth and meet No. 5 Dunnellon (2-12) Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal contest. The winner advances to Friday’s semifinal against top-seeded The Villages (5-4-4), the lone team in the district with a winning record.
The Crystal River boys (3-14) are also seeded fourth and play No. 5 Dunnellon (0-14) in the quarterfinal round Thursday at 6 p.m. The winner will take on top-seed The Villages (8-3-1) in the semifinals next Monday.
The Seven Rivers Christian soccer teams will travel to Mount Dora Christian Academy for District 2A-4 action.
The Warrior girls (13-6-1) are seeded second and will play No. 3 Bishop McLaughlin (5-6-1) in the semifinals Monday, Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. The winner advances to the title game on Feb. 2.
The Seven Rivers Christian boys (3-8-1) are seeded sixth and face No. 3 seed Mount Dora Christian Academy (7-7-4) Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Bulldogs’ home field in quarterfinal action. The winner gets No. 2 Bishop McLaughlin in the semifinals.
Sports editor
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