By Alan Zlotorzynski // May 8, 2018
If you asked the great coaches of those Brevard County teams that won a state title what was the best way to compliment a championship season, inevitably Coach Haig at Satellite, Armstrong at MCC, Lord at Melbourne and Baines-Lundy at Viera would tell you – win another one the following year.
All of them did just that, they won back-to-back championships and this year, Scott Carswell and his Merritt Island Mustangs can add their name to that list of winners who have won two straight titles.
Under Carswell, the Mustangs have become a perennial state soccer power.
From 2005 through the 2015-16 season, Carswell’s teams reached the state finals four times and, even though they won the 2010 State Championship, Carswell’s thirst for more titles remained unquenched.
The 2016-17 Mustangs were a very young group.
Twelve of the players on the roster were either freshmen or sophomores, and only three seniors saw time in the 2017 state title game.
Junior Aimee Vance led the team with 21 goals and sophomore Lexy Denaburg racked 17-goals and a team-high 21-assists. In goal, sophomore Jordan Tomberlin allowed just four into the net all season.
In all, 73 of the 130 goals were scored by underclassmen. However, every great team has senior leadership, and the 2016-17 Mustangs were no exception as Coach Carswell counted on two Madisons and a Keli for his.
Madison Moore, Madison Feeney and Kelli Lindquist combined to score 42 goals with Lindquist adding 15-assists. Last year’s team posted a 21-1 record and dominated opponents throughout the season. They scored 130 goals, allowed only 13 and finished the season winning 12 in a row.
During their run to capturing their second state title, the Mustangs outscored their opponents 18-0 in the playoffs.
There would be drama in the state title game, as the match ended with no score and would require penalty kicks to decide the winner.
After trading goals and following two great PK stops by Tomberlin, another sophomore, Jordan Michaels buried the Mustangs fourth penalty kick goal to give Merritt Island the title.
