Apopka’s soccer season came to a crushing end Tuesday night, as Lake Brantley upset the Blue Darters 2-0 in the opening round of the Class 7A District 3 playoffs at Apopka.  

In a rematch of an evenly played 2-2 draw just eight days earlier, the postseason meeting told a very different story. 

“We just lost focus,” Apopka head coach Billy Willier said. “They were too emotional from minute one, they were just very nervy players tonight. We were hoping the classroom film work would settle them down, but it didn’t seem to work today. Take nothing away from Lake Brantley — they played an excellent game.” 

Apopka entered the match as the district’s No. 4 seed at 7-5-4, while Lake Brantley, the No. 5 seed, came in at 1-10-4. Despite the disparity in records, Willier expected a tight battle, especially after the teams’ recent draw. The Blue Darters even spent time reviewing film from that match — something they had rarely done this season — hoping it would help them clean up mistakes and play more connected soccer. 

Instead, Lake Brantley struck immediately. 

Just four minutes in, the Patriots earned a corner kick and capitalized, sending a ball into the box that found the back of the net to make it 1-0. Apopka struggled to settle after the early goal, with both teams battling for possession and searching for through-ball opportunities that never quite materialized. 

Lake Brantley doubled the lead in the 17th minute, controlling possession inside the box before finishing from a tight angle on the right side, sneaking a shot inside the near post for a 2-0 advantage. At the water break, Lake Brantley head coach Ewan Lindo called for his group to regroup and focus on staying connected. 

From there, the Patriots were content to sit back, control their defensive third, and bleed the clock.  

Apopka couldn’t register a single shot on goal before halftime, unable to break through a disciplined Lake Brantley back line. Things became even more difficult early in the second half when Apopka committed a bad tackle under pressure, resulting in a red card and forcing the Blue Darters to play a man down.  

Eight minutes into the half, Apopka created pressure, earning a corner kick. Estevao Amarai delivered a perfectly placed corner into the box that bounced dangerously and nearly resulted in Apopka’s first goal of the night. The Blue Darters saw more possession, but long runs and final passes continued to fall just short. 

Defensively, Garrett Perfater anchored the back line, repeatedly shutting down Lake Brantley through-ball attempts and keeping Apopka within striking distance. Amarai nearly sparked life with 11 minutes remaining, curling a beautiful free kick from the left side toward the far post, but no Blue Darter was there to finish it. 

Down a man and facing a two-goal deficit, Apopka simply ran out of time. 

Senior captain and leading scorer David Campana reflected on both the match and his final season in blue. 

“It was a really good season for us,” Campana said. “But in the last few games, we lost our minds a little bit. We were arguing in the midfield, and we didn’t practice well. In the second half of this game ,we were good, but we got one man down, and you can’t play like that.” 

Despite the disappointment, Campana took pride in his senior year as the top scorer for the Darters.  

“It was amazing,” he said. “Everybody congratulated me and was very happy with me. It was my senior year, so I’m done here, but I’m going to keep playing with my club now. This season was really good.” 

While the playoff exit stung, Willier emphasized the bigger picture. 

“One of our goals was to have a positive season,” he said. “Last year, we didn’t. This year, we accomplished that. Obviously, we wanted to get to the district finals, and that didn’t happen tonight, but overall I’m very pleased and proud of the guys.” 

With a large group of players expected to return, including several JV contributors who saw time Tuesday, Willier remains optimistic. 

“I think they were starting to click,” he said. “Getting that extra year together is going to be nice. I think we’ll have a good balanced team, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”