Local youth soccer teams aim for perfection

 At the unofficial midway mark of the Plant City Recreation & Parks Department/Optimist Youth Soccer season, at least one team in nearly every age group still hopes for a perfect record.

One league, the Under 8s, has two teams sporting 4-0 records – though, of course, only one ultimately can be champion. The Macaws and Geese not only are undefeated but have been equally impressive, outscoring opponents by wide margins.

The two top teams will meet on May 21, the last week of the regular season.

After taking off last weekend for Easter, play resumes this Saturday at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex. Along with the normal game activity, the 14th annual Optimist Tri-Star Skills Competition is from 9 to 11 a.m.

The top three performers in each age group will receive awards. Boys and girls compete separately in age groups 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-14. For information, contact Danny Smith at (813) 659-4200, Ext. 4313.

Through four full weeks, the Macaws and Geese were soaring past the Under 8 competition. In back-to-back games, the Geese (scoring margin 27-3) got four-goal outings from Xander Wise and Adrian Ibarra.

Meanwhile the Macaws' goal margin was 26-3. The teams tied for third, the Owls and Sparrows, ended up deadlocked at 3-3 when they played April 2. Gerardo Diaz had a hat trick for the Owls.

In the Under 7 league, the Meadowlarks are 4-0 while the Ospreys are second at 3-0-1. (They will meet May 14.) Last week Kevin Castro scored four goals to lead the Meadowlarks past the Mallards 5-0, and the Ospreys edged the Hawks 5-3 on two goals from Angel Gueerra and one each from Lauryn Hawthorne, Luke Kanzlemar and Anthony Rosales.

Right behind are the Doves and Penguins with 3-1 marks. When the teams met it was a 9-5 Doves victory with Martin Carbajal Jr. scoring six goals.

Also last week, Gabriel Pina poured home seven goals as fifth-place Flamingos beat the Blue Jays 7-5.

Atop the Under 10 Boys division is a Flames team that, while going 4-0, has outscored opponents by an overwhelming 26-1. After edging the Rampage 1-0 in their opener, the Flames won the next three games by scores of 8-0, 9-1 and 8-0. David Guevera had four goals in the middle contest.

The Lions and Lancers have no defeats to date, with the Lions improving to 3-0-1 last Saturday, beating the Rampage 5-0. Daniel Salgado had a hat trick.

On April 2, the Lions tied the Leopards 2-2 for their only non-victory. Last week, the Lancers got three goals from Giovanni Diaz, two from Carlos Daniel and one more from Garrett Brumbeloe to beat the Rowdies 6-0.

In the Under 10 Girls group the Wolves are 4-0 and have allowed one goal all year. They most recently beat the Fury 3-1 on two goals from Ally Rae Black. In second place are the Panthers (2-0-2), who gave the third-place Lynx their only blemish with a 3-0 win on April 2. Andrea Garcia scored a hat trick.

It's a solid group of three teams atop the Under 12 Boys division: Revolution (4-0), Clash and Cougars (both 3-1). Cesar Bautista had four goals as the Revolution beat the Galaxy 6-0 on April 9. On April 2 the Clash beat the Flash 4-1 with David Cintron scoring twice.

Only in the Under 12 Girls group are there no more unbeatens. The Express and United are both 3-1, though the Express easily beat United 4-0 with Amber Trejo scoring three goals. The Express lost its opener, 3-0 to the Heat.

Five games into the Under 15 Boys slate, the Strikers are on top with four wins and a draw, while the Sockers are 4-1. On March 29 the Spurs, who are in third place, tied the Strikers 4-4 with Jesus Pina and Ovidio Perez Jr. scoring twice for their respective sides.

Only one team has allowed no goals: the Stars of the Under 15 Girls league. On April 9 they defeated the Shadow 2-0 behind goals from Stephanie Guerra and Jennifer Ruiz. That was the Shadow's lone defeat.

Last week, the team bounced back with a 7-1 win over the Sparks. Salma Betancourt had three goals.

And in Under 19 play, England leads the pack at 5-0, up a game on second-place Germany after beating them 2-1 last Tuesday.