Before Land O’ Lakes boys soccer team makes its seven-plus hour road trip, the school said it will send off its players and coaches at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the the school, located at 20325 Gator Lane in Land O’ Lakes.

The Gators (22-3-2) will then travel to Tallahassee, where they will stay and have arranged the use a field for practice, then head over to Fortt Walton Beach on Friday for the state semifinal at Choctawhatchee High School at 8 p.m. EST.

As 15th-year coach Mark Pearson said Tuesday night in a text message, “We’ve a some road trip now. Cheers.”

Land O’ Lakes won the Class 3A, Region 2 final Tuesday night 5-0 over Gainesville Eastside, which propelled the team to its first semifinal appearance since 2000. This is Pearson’s third state semifinal appearance in his Land O’ Lakes career, including coaching the Gators to a 1999 state runner-up title.

The Gators, who had been perennially exiting the state tournament early as of recent memory, won the region quarterfinals 4-1 over Fivay and the region semifinals 5-1 over Sunlake, making their first region final appearance since 2005.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.com

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