- April 18, 2024
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Lady Pirates fall to Ponte Vedra in district semifinals
Ponte Vedra knocked off Matanzas, 3-0, on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the District 4-3A tournament, ending the Lady Pirates’ season.
Competing in one of the most competitive districts in the state, Matanzas was just a win away from making the district championship game and securing a state playoff berth.
Ponte Vedra, the defending Class 3A state champs, will move onto Friday’s finals.
After knocking off Clay in the quarterfinals, Matanzas went into Wednesday’s game on a two-game winning streak. But Ponte Vedra simply proved to be too much for the Lady Pirates.
“We couldn’t do anything offensively,” coach Tony Benvenuto said after the game.
Benvenuto implemented a defensive-minded 4-5-1 formation to limit Ponte Vedra’s scoring opportunities and to try and score a goal on the counterattack.
Instead, Ponte Vedra pumped shot after shot at Lady Pirates freshman keeper Bella Benvenuto, who tallied 25 saves in the game. Benvenuto said Ponte Vedra tallied more than 35 shots in the game.
Despite the season ending before Matanzas (12-7-1) would have liked, Benvenuto said the team still had a great season.
Junior forward Gabbi Paiz finished the season with 37 goals and 20 assists. Bella Benvenuto tallied 11 shutouts and 150 saves in 20 games.
“We closed the gap with our opponents, but playing in an eight-team district is not easy,” he said. “We are looking forward to next year — hoping to take the next step, and that’s to qualify for states.”
Bulldogs soccer heads into playoffs as No. 1 seed
Flagler Palm Coast boys soccer coach Noah Braun’s playoff preparation plan seems to be working.
The Bulldogs closed out their regular season with three road games against tough opponents, which began with a 1-1 draw against Nease last week.
On Monday, FPC knocked off a fast-paced Ocoee team, 3-2.
In that game, Nicholas Varon, Drew Jones and Johnny Osorio each scored a goal.
FPC keeper Austin Davis tallied six saves on eight shots.
Then, on Thursday, FPC lost to Buzhholz, 1-0, in a close contest. Flagler Palm Coast finished the season 13-2-2.
This season, FPC has outscored its opponents 61-16.
Osorio leads all scorers with 24 goals and 13 assists — a total of 61 points. Jones has nine goals and six assists.
Assistant Coach Reg Monsanto said Wednesday that the season is a three-month journey. The finish line is the state finals.
“That’s when you stop running, not before,” Monsanto said.
In regard to playing a tough, compacted schedule, Monsanto added: “We tried to stage games against strong opponents after regular district play. There are three ways to look at them: If we lose those games, it’s OK. They don’t matter. They will make us stronger for the games that do matter.”
FPC will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s District 2-5A tournament. The Bulldogs will host No. 4-seeded DeLand on Tuesday night. With a win, FPC would host the winner of the other semifinal match between University and Spruce Creek.
