Friday night will feature 24 boys and girls high school state semifinals all across Florida
By Official Florida FC
The bright lights of varsity soccer’s biggest stage are one game away. The FHSAA state semifinals will be contested on Friday.
Here is a preview of the action.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
There are eight schools whose boys and girls programs will play in Friday’s state semifinals.
St. Johns Country Day, Fort Myers Canterbury and Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy are all vying for the Class 2A state championship. Bolles, Westminster Christian are alive in Class 3A. Orlando Bishop Moore swept Merrit Island in a soccer doubleheader to advance to the Class 4A semifinals. Tampa Plant will host a semifinal doubleheader against St. Johns Bartram Trail and Lake Mary.
The most surprising of the octet is Panama City Beach Arnold. The Marlins girls are in the state semifinals for the first time. The boys made it to the semifinals in 2018, but lost handily to Daytona Beach Seabreeze.
Arnold’s girls dethroned 2020 state champion Bishop Kenny in Tuesday’s Region 1-4A final. The Marlins (12-4-2) travel to Charlotte County to face a Lemon Bay squad that is 15-7 and has multiple losses by five or more goals this season.
Arnold forward Olivia Lebdaoui has scored nine goals in her last three games.
Elsewhere, Westminster Christian (Class 3A) and Westminster Academy (Class 2A) both host a semifinal series.
Westminster Christian’s boys (10-3-2) host Winter Park Trinity Prep (17-1-1). The girls (10-4-1) host undefeated Delray Beach American Heritage (13-0-1). American Heritage freshman Isabella Larriu scored a first half hat trick, en route to scoring five against Melbourne West Shore in the Stallions’ 7-2 win in the Region 3-3A final.
CANTERBURY TALE
Fort Myers Canterbury will play in its first state semifinal in school history on Friday night. Both the girls and boys programs broke through to win regional titles on Tuesday night.
The Cougars boys (19-3-1) graduated Florida’s top scorer from the 2020 season, but still scored 108 goals this year.
Canterbury’s girls (20-2-1) have been even more prolific. The Cougars have scored 123 goals. Senior Jasmine Perez-Acosta has produced 40 goals and 18 assists in 21 games. Wednesday, Perez-Acosta was one of five girls to earn Winter United Soccer Coaches/MaxPreps High School State Player of the Week honors.
Canterbury will travel across the peninsula to face Westminster Academy in a Class 2A semifinal. The girls kickoff at 5:30. The boys kickoff at 7:30.
RENEWED ACQUAINTANCES
Tampa Plant’s girls soccer program has a chance to advance to its first state final. Standing in their way is the same group of girls who ended the Panthers’ 2020 season: St. Johns Bartram Trail.
Plant scored early, but Bartram Trail scored once before halftime and added a 55th minute goal to eliminate the Panthers. This year, Plant enters with more firepower. USF commitment Quinn Ryan scored six goals in Plant’s 8-1 win over Clermont East Ridge in the Region 2-7A final.
On the boys side, Niceville will have yet another familiar playoff opponent. The Eagles (12-6-1) beat Neptune Beach Fletcher in another instant classic to winthe Region 1-6A title. Their reward is a trip to Pasco County to face a New Port Richey Mitchell team the Eagles’ cracked 3-0 in a 2020 state semifinal.
Here is some free advice for Mitchell: Don’t let Niceville’s Logan Harrelson score. Fletcher found out the hard way the senior can be irrepressible in the big moments. Niceville is 25-1-1 when Harrelson scores.
Another semifinal that is a 2020 rematch is in Class 5A. Stanton College Prep (13-1-5) returns to Tampa to face reigning state champions Tampa Jesuit. The Tigers beat Stanton 3-0 in a 2020 state semifinal behind a pair of set piece goals.
Last year, Stanton didn’t think it would make it to the final four. This season, the Blue Devils expected to make a deep run. So did Jesuit. For one of the blue-clad programs, their run will end in the semifinals.
SOCCER SAVANTS
Ponte Vedra girls soccer coach Dave Silverberg will coach in his 13th FHSAA state semifinal on Friday night when the Sharks (12-3-5) face Land O’ Lakes (18-3-1) in a Class 5A state semifinal.
Silverberg is 9-3 in the semifinals. One of the teams that has beaten one of his programs is Land O’ Lakes. The Gators beat Silverberg and the Sharks in penalty kicks in a 2015 state semifinal.
Land O’ Lakes head coach Vicky King is an institution at the Pasco County program. She has led the Gators to a 543-84-200 record in more than 30 years on the touchline. Friday night will be the sixth time King has coached the Gators in a FHSAA state semifinal.
Ponte Vedra and Land O’ Lakes have met three times in the state semifinals. The Sharks eliminated Land O’ Lakes 2-0 in the 2020 Class 5A state semifinal.
