FHSAA playoffs kick off Feb. 4

By Official Florida FC

The Florida High School Athletic Association soccer playoffs kick off on Feb. 4.

Because the playoffs have expanded this year, the four largest classifications will kick off on Feb. 4, then follow with a regional semifinal on Feb. 7. The three smallest classes will begin their 32-team tournaments on Feb. 11.

Here is a look at some players, teams and stories to watch ahead of the 2025 FHSAA soccer playoffs.

More winning!

This is the first year the FHSAA has expanded its soccer playoffs to feature seven classifications. In 2020, the association expanded from five classifications to six for its soccer playoffs.

The previous expansion was in 2004, when it expanded from four classes to five. The eight year gap from when the FHSAA expanded from three classifications to four in 1997 can be explained by the increased number of schools that started to field programs as well as heightened interest in the sport because of the men’s 1994 World Cup; creation of Major League Soccer in 1996 and the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

This expansion does not have any of those factors. Whether it leads to a diluted playoff season remains to be seen.

Throughout the 2024-25 season, preeminent programs have been at or near the top of the classification rankings all season. It also means that in some areas – particularly girls soccer in greater Jacksonville as well as boys soccer in the Tampa Bay area – will see more programs make a deep run because there are additional classifications.  

Heart of a champion

Lakeland Christian has won four consecutive state championships. The Vikings enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in Region 3-2A and are favored to win at least a couple games this February.

The Vikings (12-6-3) are not scoring goals in bunches, like they have in years past. But, they have only conceded 17 times in 21 matches this year. And, teams that don’t concede have a chance to make a run in the postseason.

Lakeland Christian enters the postseason without leading score Mari Carr (10 goals, 2 assists). The Lakeland Ledger reports Carr will miss the rest of varsity soccer season with an injury.

What may help Lakeland Christian this postseason is the experience the Vikings gained playing some of the Sunshine State’s best, including Orlando Lake Highland Prep, Montverde Academy and Orange Park St. Johns Country Day.

Gulliver goes for it

Gulliver Prep’s boys soccer team has a chance to equal the state record with a third consecutive state championship. The Raiders (16-2-2) are the No. 1 seed in the Region 1-3A playoffs.

Gulliver is unbeaten in seven matches this calendar year, but the Raiders have only posted three clean sheets. Gulliver needed overtime to beat Miami Immaculata La Salle in the District 16-3A tournament final on Jan. 28.

Nicolas Piñeros leads the attack with 11 goals and 19 assists. The senior midfielder is a four-year member of Gulliver’s varsity and is considered an on-field leader by his teammates and coaches.

No program goes for a three-peat with one, talismanic, player. Jorge Gouvea (10 goals, 9 assists); Justin Merner (7 goals, one assist) midfielder Pablo Cejas and goalkeeper Sonny Garcia have helped the Raiders take everyone’s best shot in South Florida.

Gulliver has won nine titles in its illustrious history. If the Raiders capture a Florida La Decima this season, it might be their most meaningful championship to date.

St. Johns spotlight

A St. Johns County program has advanced to the state final for 20 straight seasons. In the northwest part of the county, St. Johns Bartram Trail and St. Johns Creekside have split the last five titles girls soccer titles in Class 7A.

Creekside’s girls closed the year as the No. 1 overall team in Florida.

Meanwhile, Bartram Trail (13-1-4) dropped down a classification this year and are the top seed in Region 1-6A. The Bears (13-1-4) have allowed only eight goals this season and only lost to Creekside.

Elsewhere, Ponte Vedra’s girls – the reigning Class 5A state champion — are the No. 1 seed in Region 1-5A and already beaten three programs in Region 1-5A this year, Tallahassee Chiles, St. Johns Beachside and Fleming Island, by an aggregate score of 8-2.

In the south end of St. Johns, St. Joseph Academy won its first girls soccer title in 20 years. The Flashes (12-6) enter the Region 1-1A playoffs as the No. 7 seed and face Niceville Rocky Bayou Christian on Feb. 11.

Half a hundred for Hannah

North Fort Myers has its eyes on the last ascent.

The Red Wolves lost in heartbreaking fashion to private school powerhouse Plantation American Heritage in the 2024 Class 5A state final. The person who might lead North Fort Myers is someone who had to watch last year’s run on the sidelines.

Hannah Busenbark hit the ground running this varsity soccer season. The North Fort Myers junior forward has scored 51 goals in 19 games. The Eastern Kentucky University commitment has scored a hat trick 10 times this season. Arguably, her most impressive performance may have been when she scored twice against a defensively sound Ponte Vedra squad on Jan. 18

The Red Knights (18-2) are the No. 1 seed in Region 3-5A.

While there are three others who have scored more in Florida this season, there may not be anyone more important to an elite team in the Sunshine State than Hannah Busenbark.

Minutemen meet the moment

Cocoa Beach’s boys soccer team is 14-3-1 after it won the District 5-3A championship in overtime with a 2-1 win over Space Coast High School on Jan. 29. That win helped the Minutemen earn a FHSAA playoff berth in consecutive years for the first time since 1987.

Cocoa Beach hosts The Village School of Naples (4-8) on Feb. 11 in a regional quarterfinal.