St. Thomas Aquinas and Bartram Trail Set for FHSAA 6A Girls Soccer Championship Showdown After Semifinal Shutouts

St. Thomas Aquinas secures a 2-0 victory over Lakewood Ranch, while Bartram Trail edges Sunlake 1-0, setting the stage for a thrilling 6A state title clash

St. Thomas Aquinas and Lakewood Ranch players scramble for a loose ball in front of the net before the ball is eventually gobbled up by the Lakewood goalkeeper. STA won the Class 6A state semifinal, 2-0, at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex on Thursday. / Bill Kemp

AUBURNDALE – A pair of semifinal shutouts set up an intriguing state championship showdown.

St. Thomas Aquinas shut out Lakewood Ranch, 2-0, on Friday in an FHSAA Class 6A state semifinal at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. 

St. Thomas will square off against St. Johns' Bartram Trail (17-1-14) in the 6A state championship game Saturday at 7 p.m. Bartram advanced after edging Land O’ Lakes' Sunlake in an earlier semifinal 1-0. 

“This is what we dream about and we started talking about winning a state title when I came on board last year,” St. Thomas coach Bryan Hantak said. “That was our one goal. The girls are outstanding.”

St. Thomas (19-1-3)  holds the state record with 15 girls soccer state titles, though the Raiders haven’t captured a state championship since 2017 when they won the 4A crown. 

“Lakewood Ranch played outstanding,” Hantak said. “We knew it would be a tough game and we knew they would fight. Their keeper came up huge and made great saves. They are a great team but we will take a 2-0 win."

St. Thomas also out-shot Lakewood Ranch 16-4.

After a scoreless first half, St. Thomas seized a 1-0 lead on a goal by sophomore Alexa Strickler with 38:15 left in the second half.Sophie Barnes dished out an assist on the score.

St. Thomas increased its lead to 2-0 on a goal by Madison McKeon off an assist by Bianca Raskin with 14:25 left in the game.

Bartram Trail (17-1-4) picked up a first-period goal from senior midfielder Ali Fletcher for the game’s only score. It came in the 39th minute of play off an assist from junior defender Kate Kirby.