Lake Mary beats Cypress Bay 4-3 on penalty kicks, wins 7A title

Lake Mary High survived 100 scoreless minutes and a tense penalty-kick shootout to beat Cypress Bay 4-3 and claim the FHSAA Class 7A girls soccer state championship at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Junior Kailey Susi, wearing No. 15, drilled the fourth and deciding PK to secure Lake Mary’s second straight Class 7A crown.

The shootout ended 4-3 in favor of Lake Mary after seven penalty kicks deep. Lake Mary’s successful PKs came from sophomore Natalie Rowen, senior Ava McKay, junior Myah Bonnett and Susi. The match remained 0-0 through regulation and two overtimes, forcing the decisive shootout that finished the Rams’ season at 20-2-1.

Open-play chances tilted toward Lake Mary at multiple points but failed to find the net. In the 16th minute Teagan Jahns sent a header into the goal area but Sigurdsson was late arriving and could not convert. Siena Sigurdsson, a sophomore, then missed wide in the 32nd minute. Just after halftime Jahns directed a pass to Ava McKay, who fed Rowen on a direct chance that was blocked by Cypress Bay goalkeeper Alejandra Duran. In the 53rd minute Sigurdsson broke past one defender on a crossover but ran into another and her soft shot bounded wide left. Late in the second overtime McKay sent a pass to the front of the goal and Sigurdsson’s header sailed high and right, prompting a huge collective gasp from a large Lake Mary contingent that made the short trip up I-4.

Cypress Bay’s goalkeeper Alejandra Duran made key stops in regulation, including the save that kept the match scoreless before penalties. The shootout sequence did not list individual Cypress Bay kickers in the available accounts; Lake Mary’s four converted PKs were the explicit makers identified.

After the final kick, Susi reflected on the pressure and preparation that produced the title-clinching strike. “It’s definitely the most nervous I’ve ever been, but we practice PKs all the time in practice so that helped me be confident,” Susi said. “I was just focused on my breathing and I wanted to do it for my teammates, so I was thinking about them. It felt amazing. It was just like a perfect experience and a perfect ending.” A photograph by Stephen M. Dowell shows Lake Mary players mobbing Susi after she converted the decisive kick.

The championship is the Rams’ fifth state title overall and their second straight Class 7A crown, making Lake Mary the fourth Orlando-area public school program to repeat as girls soccer state champions after Lyman (1991-92), Lake Howell (2000-01) and Oviedo (2016-17). The program’s recent run leaves Lake Mary 39-5-3 over the past two seasons under head coach Christian Eissele, continuing a legacy that began with titles in 1988, 1998 and 2002 under legendary coach Bill Eissele.

Lake Mary’s road to DeLand included a 3-0 regional victory over Creekside at Don T. Reynolds Stadium and a 5-0 semifinal win over Jupiter that featured five second-half goals. Earlier February results listed on team schedules included a 2-0 win over Seminole on Feb 5 and a 7-0 win over Timber Creek on Feb 11. Rankings listed as last updated Feb 26, 2026 read: Florida#1 +1, Florida Class 7A#1, Orlando#2. An Instagram post celebrated the Rams as “The 2026 #FHSAA 7A Girls Soccer State Champions! Back-to-Back State Champions!”