North girls rout Cape
On a blustery night by Florida standards, it still took awhile for Randi Lukas to cool off.
The North Fort Myers senior was one of several red-hot Red Knights Tuesday, scoring twice in a decisive first-half onslaught that ultimately provided the hosts with a 4-1 victory over Cape Coral in a District 3A-13 girls’ soccer match at Moody Field.
“It wasn’t that cold on the field, because your adrenaline is going and you don’t really think about it,” Lukas said of the 57-degree, windswept conditions.
“It’s not until you stop moving and stand still for a while that you realize how cold it actually seems,” she added.
Lukas and her teammates never did succumb. North got goals from sophomore Tori Kowalczk and junior Madison Lampkins on its first two shots at the Seahawks net. The Knights wound up scoring all four goals on just six shots in the opening 40 minutes. Kowalczk and Lampkins scored in the first seven minutes while Lukas chipped in her two at 23:56 and 30:45.
The win seals regular-season status as the No. 1 team in 3A-13 for the Knights (11-1, 6-0 district). They’ll wrap up the district schedule at Lemon Bay on Friday.
“That’s one goal accomplished,” North Fort Myers coach Nick Erickson said. “We’ve got to keep trying to take the things we talk about and translate them to the field. We’ve got to get those sorts of little things under control before we start facing the upper-echelon teams.”
The Knights, who’ve not lost to Cape Coral since 2009, were unable to add to the margin in the second half, even with an eight-shot barrage against goalkeeper Danielle Smith. The Seahawks, in fact, finished the scoring, getting their lone goal by Sarah Magin with just more than 10 minutes remaining.
“We used to travel to North and we’d be going home, down 8-0, in 40 minutes,” Seahawks coach Jamie Reimer said. “Coming out here and holding them for some of it; it wasn’t a steamroll by any means. We came here with a goal of holding them and I think we did a good job.
“We took the second half, so we feel good.”
The Seahawks travel to East Lee County on Friday.
Lemon Bay 2, Island Coast 1: After giving up an early goal on a penalty kick for a hand ball violation, Island Coast rallied to tie the game only to see their District 3A-13 rivals claim victory Tuesday night with a second-half goal.
Monica Sagastume converted a corner kick from Kalie Kania for the tying goal for the Gators, who got eight saves from goalkeeper Sharon Churlin.
The Gators (4-9-1) host South Fort Myers on Friday.
Ida Baker 3, South Fort Myers 1: Ida Baker improved top 9-4-2 Tuesday night with a District 3A-13 victory at South Fort Myers.
Gabby Morales, Marcella Montoya and Roxie Fraser scored goals for the Bulldogs (4-2 district), who also got eight saves from keeper Acelya Aydogmus. They host Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
Bishop Verot 8, LaBelle 0: Kiera Clay knocked in three goals with one assist to power Verot to a district victory over LaBelle Tuesday.
Maddie Sarnac added two goals, Elaina Quinonez, Lauren Lukasik and Elizabeth Bretton one apiece. Keeper Kenzie Frey had no saves in the shutout.
The Vikings (9-4-1, 8-0 district) host Oasis on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
Mariner 4, East Lee County 0: Joey Lane came through with two goals and one assist to lead Mariner’s victory at East Lee County Tuesday.
Joseph Nizama and Erick Rivera also added goals with Steven Schwab handing out three assists. Goalkeeper Jake Milos made one save to preserve the shutout.
The Tritons (9-1-1) travel to Lakewood Ranch Wednesday.
South Fort Myers 0, Ida Baker 0 (tie): Ida Baker controlled the ball about 75 percent of the time Tuesday night, but had to settle for a scoreless tie with South Fort Myers.
The Bulldogs (8-2-2) travel to Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
LaBelle 3, Bishop Verot 2: Bishop Verot suffered just its second defeat of the season Tuesday at LaBelle.
Weston Cole and Landon Howell scored the for the Vikings (9-2-1), who got seven saves from keeper Michael Hafele and visit Oasis on Friday.
Boys Basketball
Cape Coral 50, Cypress Lake 34: Joe Mesaros cashed in a game-high 21 points to go with five rebounds in leading Cape Coral to victory over Cypress Lake Tuesday.
C.J. Lewis chipped in with 10 points and Lawrence Perez seven for the Seahawks (3-4), who travel to Lely on Friday.
Island Coast 82, North Fort Myers 46: Eight players scored and three of those hit for double figures Tuesday night to lead Island Coast to victory at North Fort Myers.
Sam Merchant led the Gators with 16 points, backed by Greg Sirmons with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Matt Whitehead 12 points. Gabe Muhammad handed out 10 assists to go with six steals.
The Gators (4-3, 2-1 district) visit Bishop Verot on Friday.
Venice 47, Ida Baker 39: A long trip to Venice was made longer on the return trip for Ida Baker with Tuesday’s District 6A-11 loss.
Cade Petter led the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 points. The Bulldogs (1-6) host Riverdale on Friday.
Bishop Verot 97, C.S. Naples 88: Thaddeus Ward pitched in a game-high 27 points to go with 11 assists and Matt Medovich netted 24 points to propel Bishop Verot to victory Tuesday over C.S. Naples.
Stephen Wagner contributed 17 points and 14 assists with Austin Mosbach adding 12 points for the Vikings (4-3), who hosts Oasis on Thursday and Island Coast on Friday.
Girls Basketball
Immokalee 46, Mariner 41: Mariner battled back into contention after senior Mariah Ortiz left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but could get no closer than the final margin in a loss at Immokalee Tuesday night.
Kiera Bateman topped the Tritons with 17 points and seven for Brooke Junkins.
The Tritons (6-6) host Golden Gate on Friday.
Oasis 56, Gateway 27: Jordan Westendorf poured in a game-high 23 points and Samantha Wood added 17 to propel Oasis to a district victory Tuesday over Gateway Charter.
The Sharks (7-4, 3-1 district) play at Cypress Lake on Thursday.
Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.