DeLand set to host state championships for seventh straight year
By Official Florida FC
To paraphrase what Clive Tyldesley said in Barcelona a quarter century ago: Who will put their name on the trophy?
Here are five storylines to watch ahead of this week’s FHSAA championships:
No surprises
The FHSAA girls soccer state championships kick off in DeLand on Wednesday afternoon. Six games over two days will determine who takes home a trophy this season.
Six of the 12 girls teams in DeLand this year were also there in 2022:
Miami Lourdes lost the 6A final to Neptune Beach Fletcher. Cape Coral Mariner is looking for a repeat in Class 5A. Bishop Moore and Delray Beach American Heritage will meet in a rematch of the Class 4A title game. Meanwhile, the reigning Class 3A state champion and Class 2A state champion will compete for the 2A title this year.
In all, five of the top seven teams in the first statewide girls soccer rankings are in DeLand. The two who didn’t make it lost as unbeaten teams in the state semifinals.
FHSAA state championships
Class 2A: St. Johns Country Day (20-1-1) vs. Lakeland Christian (20-2-2), Wednesday 1 p.m.
Class 3A: Montverde Academy (14-2-2) vs. Fort Lauderdale University School (15-3-3), Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Class 4A: Orlando Bishop Moore (19-2-3) vs. Delray Beach American Heritage (14-1-1), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Class 5A: Plantation American Heritage (17-2-2) vs. Cape Coral Mariner (18-4-1), Friday, 1 p.m.
Class 6A: Miami Lourdes (18-1-2) vs. Gulf Breeze (19-2-1), Friday, 4 p.m.
Class 7A: St. Johns Bartram Trail (20-0-2) vs. Boca Raton (20-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Small school showdown
Lakeland Christian (20-2-2) has won the last two Class 3A state championships. St. Johns Country Day (20-1-1) has won an unprecedented 11 straight state titles in Class 2A.
Wednesday afternoon’s titanic clash for the Class 2A state championship has been predicted the moment the Vikings returned to Florida’s smallest classification this year.
Lakeland Christian has four girls who have scored at least 10 goals. Carly Sabat leads the way with 17 goals and 13 assists. Forward Maddie Lopez has overcome injuries the last two seasons, but has scored seven goals and nine assists.
St. Johns Country Day head coach Mike Pickett and Lakeland Christian head coach Jason Streets have been friends for years.
“We have a massive challenge ahead of us. They are very talented,” Pickett said. “They have 13 seniors.”
Those seniors haven’t lost to a team in their classification since the 2020 state final.
Meanwhile, St. Johns enters with a youthful side. The Spartans have five seniors, but their best player, Sydney Schmidt (24 goals, 22 assists), is a freshman. Meanwhile, midfield tempo-setter Cecilia Nowicki (7 goals, 5 assists) is a sophomore.
St. Johns seniors Lauryn Mateo (19 goals, 16 assists) and Avery Raimondo (11 goals, 24 assists) have been to DeLand before and have the state championship rings to prove it.
“He has a veteran team,” Pickett said. “This is the best team he’s had. We’ve played them for years and years and we’ve had some nail biters. It’s going to be important for us to get on the front foot.”
Mariner’s road less traveled
Injuries and the pressure of being a reigning state champion pale in comparison to the challenges Mariner’s girls soccer program faced this season.
Two months before the season began, Cape Coral – like many communities in Southwest Florida – was waylaid by Hurricane Ian. More than 140 people died and schools in Lee County were closed for more than two weeks following the storm.
Mariner made the six-hour drive to Tallahassee for the state semifinals and needed all 80 minutes to eliminate Tallahassee Lincoln. Junior attacker Ryleigh Acosta – as she has done throughout her varsity career – produced a magical moment.
She has 69 goals and 63 assists in 63 varsity games. No assist was more important than her 65th minute assist to Gloria Quintanilla in last year’s state final.
Acosta has 25 goals and 21 assists this year. Quintanilla has 11 goals and 11 assists in 19 matches. Stephanie Saracione (17 goals, 8 assists) and Caroline Pelkofski (11 goals, six assists) form an attack that has scored 41 goals in its last 10 matches.
“The girls we have are something special, and they want to do well,” Mariner head coach Jami Hagy told the Tallahassee Democrat following the semifinal win. “They want to learn, and they want to win. When they’re determined, they’re unstoppable.”
Let’s run it back
When Orlando Bishop Moore (19-2-3) faces Delray Beach American Heritage (14-1-1) in Wednesday night’s Class 4A state final it will mark the seventh time in state history two programs have met for the state championship in consecutive years.
Bishop Moore was the first to play in such a contest. The Hornets lost to Jacksonville Bolles in the 1995 Class 4A state final, but beat the Bulldogs 2-1 to win the 1996 crown.
American Heritage was on the field for the dawn of St. Johns Country Day’s historic run. The Stallions beat St. Johns 1-0 for the 2004 Class 2A state title. A year later, St Johns Country Day won its first state championship in penalty kicks over the Stallions.
As for Wednesday’s game, Bishop Moore has been stellar since a 1-0 loss to St. Johns Bartram Trail on a very cold night in Northeast Florida. The Hornets have conceded two goals in the nine games since.
No one at Bishop Moore will need to be reminded the threat American Heritage leading scorer Isabella Larriu (19 goals, five assists) will bring to the pitch. Larriu scored the opening goal in the 14th minute of last year’s state final.
Bishop Moore won the 2022 title game 4-2. All four of its goal-scorers in last year’s final Amelia Miller (13 goals, nine assists); Victoria Pou (14 goals, five assists); Sienna Rivera (eight goals, three assists) and Madison Gellner (seven goals, three assists) are back to try and lead the Hornets to a seventh FHSAA title.
Gulf Breeze gives it a go
Gulf Breeze survived an unpredictable Region 1-6A, then surprised Oviedo in near-freezing temperatures in the state semifinals to make its seventh appearance in the FHSAA state finals.
Gulf Breeze has appeared in a state final four times since it won consecutive titles in 2000 and 2001. The Dolphins have had their heart broken each time – losing by one goal 2002, 2007 and 2019 and losing the 2018 final in penalty kicks.
Gulf Breeze (19-2-1) trailed by two goals in the semifinal and scored a smash-and-grab goal late in double overtime to eliminate Fleming Island in the regional final.
Miami Lourdes (18-1-2) has only conceded 10 goals in 21 matches this season, but elite teams – like 7A finalist Boca Raton, 5A finalist Mariner and 4A finalist Plantation American Heritage – have found ways to breach their defense. The question is whether Gulf Breeze can do the same.
