Bears were lone public school to win state championship
By Official Florida FC
DELAND | Bartram Trail entered the 2019-20 girls soccer season motivated by disappointment. The Bears mentality changed after the first week of the season and it lifted them to the FHSAA Class 7A state championship on Feb. 28.
Bartram Trail cracked Weston Cypress Bay 5-0 to win its first state championship. The margin of defeat was 12th time in state history a girls soccer team won the state title game by five or more goals.
Cypress Bay, a state finalist in 2019, entered the final having conceded nine goals in 23 games. The Lightning, who were atop the FHSAA state rankings in mid-January, turned in a performance so shocking its head coach called it embarrassing afterward.
“A simple statement is that was embarrassing,” said Cypress Bay head coach Kate Dwyer. “It’s embarrassing for Cypress Bay. It’s embarrassing for me, who played in college and coached in college. It’s embarrassing for the game of soccer to be that lopsided. It shouldn’t happen at this level. We didn’t show up. That’s not who we are. I’m not trying to take anything away from them. They are a good team. They wanted it more. They outplayed us 100 %.”
Bartram Trail’s Ella Dudley opened the scoring 53 seconds into the game. Jori Follenweider, Grace Ivey, Paige Hunt and Olivia Bori also scored.
Bartram Trail (21-1-3) dedicated its season to center forward Alex Horton, who was seriously injured in a car wreck in November. The Bears’ lopsided score in the final allowed Horton to step onto the field for the final minutes of the match.
“They really worked so hard for each other,” said Bartram Trail head coach Jen Rodriguez. “When one person, one player, went down another one stepped up. They were able to do that all year long. Some teams, if you hav ea player go down, it changes the whole dynamic of a team. They really were able to just keep each other going, keep each other motivated. I know Alex had a big part of that, because she was always in the back of our mind.”
Class 6A
Miami Lourdes 2, Venice 1
Miami Lourdes won its second state championship in the last three years.
The Bobcats won the game Mia Atrio scored the winner midway through the second half following Isabella Guisasola’s run down the right flank that directed a cross into the path of the Atrio.
Class 5A
Archbishop McCarthy 2, Ponte Vedra 0
Ponte Vedra committed an own goal in the sixth minute and chased the game the rest of the way. The Sharks took more shots, produced more chances and drew more corner kicks, but their finishing could not breach McCarthy goalies Isabella Quintero and Paloma Pena.
Liliana Katz’s 58th minute goal doubled the Mavericks advantage and sealed the game. Archbishop McCarthy (22-1-2), state finalists in 2019, claimed their first state championship.
“Obviously, they’re in the state final for a reason,” Archbishop McCarthy head coach Mike Sica told reporters afterward. “They were down our throat quite a bit. We were able to hang in. Both keepers came up pretty big.”
Class 4A
Jacksonville Bishop Kenny 2, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 1
The Crusaders allowed chance after chance in the opening minutes, but withstood the initial barrage. Cardinal Gibbons’ Sydney Polivka scored the opener, but the Chiefs (18-4-4) could not add a second.
Bishop Kenny responded with a 39th minute goal from Sophia Hayag. University of North Florida signee Haynes Grant gave Bishop Kenny (16-4-2) a lead it would not relinquish.
Class 3A
Jacksonville Bolles 3, Miami Carrolton 2
Bolles won its third straight state championship and lifted the trophy for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Bolles never trailed. University of North Carolina commmitment Avery Patterson scored the first two goals, then provided the corner kick that Alexi Pitt’s game-winner in the 48th minute.
Class 2A
St. Johns Country Day 4, St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep 0
The Spartans won their ninth consecutive state championship.
Hannah Lemieux scored just 76 seconds into the game. Co-captain Paige Crews expanded the lead in the 25th. Mia Sadler and Lauryn Mateo added second half goals to break the game open.
St. Johns Country Day (24-1) did not allow a goal during the playoffs. The Spartans outscored opponents 20-0 in four games.
