PHOTOS: Prep girls soccer: Barron Collier rallies past Lely

NAPLES — Barron Collier won Monday's showdown between two of Collier County's top girls soccer teams, but Lely made the Cougars work hard for the victory.

The Cougars scored just nine minutes into the match, found themselves trailing an upstart Lely team minutes before halftime. Barron Collier locked down on defense, though, and scored twice more for a 3-2 victory on the Trojans' home turf.

Lely did its best to knock off the Cougars (13-1-3), who have reigned as the powerhouse of Collier County girls soccer for the past decade. The Trojans (11-3-3), with their best record in years, are trying to prove they can hang with Barron Collier.

“Give credit to Lely,” Cougars coach Ray Morgan said of Monday's close match. “I've been watching what (Trojans coach) Mark (Lopez) has done with the program. It's been growing every year, getting stronger every year.”

It was a hard-fought contest between two teams that could see each other again soon. Barron Collier and Lely will be the top two seeds in the Class 4A-District 12 tournament next week, though the order has yet to be determined.

The two teams tied when they first met Dec. 10. Lopez said that match is the only one that counts toward the district standings. Because they are tied, Lopez said he thinks the No. 1 seed will come down to a coin toss between Barron Collier and Lely.

Neither coach seemed too concerned about getting the top seed Monday. The top four seeds get a home game in the first round of the 4A-12 tournament, and the next two rounds will be played at Golden Gate.

Lopez said he liked how hard his Trojans battled Barron Collier, but that Lely has to eliminate its errors if it hopes to end the Cougars' run of five straight district championships.

“Too many mistakes hurt us,” Lopez said. “We definitely can't bring these mistakes into next week. … If we can play like we played (against Barron Collier) but eliminate the mistakes, I think we'll go far.”

Maria Gomez got the scoring started Monday with a direct kick from about 30 yards out that sailed over Lely goalkeeper Beatriz Reza's head. Lely wasn't fazed, though, as it scored twice in a six-minute span to take the lead with five minutes to go before halftime.

The Trojans' first goal came on Amanda Lopez's direct kick from 18 yards away, just on the edge of the penalty box. On the next score, Ciera Abundez got behind the Cougars' defense and found Liana Criscuoli in the middle of the field. Criscuoli was one-on-one with Barron Collier goalie Alex Persiani and put the ball in the net.

Samantha Gomes answered for the Cougars. She scored on an assist from Gomez to tie the game with less than three minutes to go before halftime, and added the game-winner 12 minutes into the second half.

Despite the victory, Morgan wasn't completely pleased with Barron Collier's performance. He said the defense was out of rhythm without Paige Butterfield, who turned her ankle Saturday against Gulf Coast.

Persiani, the Cougars' keeper, was injured briefly in a collision with a Lely player midway through the second half. She finished the game, but Morgan expects Persiani to sit out practice the rest of the week to rest what he called a bruised rib.