Match preview: Lakeland hits road tonight for tough matchup with South Florida Surf

LAKELAND – The Lakeland Tropics six-game winning streak will be on the line tonight when they hit the road to take on the South Florida Surf.

The Surf are a deceiving 1-3-1 on the season, after being considered one of the favorites in the southeast division in the pre-season. South Florida was the division runner up last year, and was invited to play in the prestigious Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup early this season.

Their resume includes a 1-1 tie with the SIMA Aguilas, who lead the southeast division with a 7-0-1 mark. Ethan Decker comes in as their leading goal scorer and leader in shots taken this season.

Lakeland comes in off a very solid 3-1 road win at The Villages SC in which team scoring leader Ricardo Diegues had a goal and two assists. Victor Rojas and Juan Tejada also scored their fourth goal of the season each. Diegues has eight to be among the scoring leaders in the 72-team Premier Development League team.

The Tropics will return home for back-to-back Saturday home games, starting with a top-of-the-standings showdown with FC Miami City, the only team so far to hang a loss on the Tropics, who are 6-1 overall. FC Miami City is 7-1 overall this year. Kickoff Saturday at Bryan Stadium is at 7:35 p.m. with the first 1,000 fans receiving free Tropics rally towels courtesy of EA Smiles Orthodontics.

For tickets, call the Tropics office at 240-0101. Fans can also purchase a special three-pack of tickets for Lakeland's remaining home games for just $12. More information can also be found online at www.lakelandtropics.com.