- April 22, 2024
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Seabreeze senior Taylor Hughes scored the first goal one minute and 22 seconds into the District 6-4A semifinal game against Eustis on Jan. 31 at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex. The team then denied the Panthers access to their goal and finished a 6-0 shutout.
With the district final dangling in front of both teams, style of play for the night was aggressive. Even though Sandcrabs Brianna Chesley and Emily Myers each scored before halftime, the Panthers refused to give in.
“If we’re going to make it to where we want to go in the regionals final four, we have to go through Bishop Moore to do it ... they look to be a good team, but we look to be a good team too.”
ELI FREIDUS, Seabreeze head coach
“I think defensively we are pretty sound,” Seabreeze coach Eli Freidus said. “The Panthers are a dangerous team. They are a good position team. The first half, they were full speed. We were half speed.”
The Sandcrabs changed gears in the second half as Chesley charged for three more goals, to give her four for the game.
Four players were involved in an altercation as the intensity increased, sending three Seabreeze players and one Eustis player to the sidelines with yellow cards with 4:50 left on the clock.
“I’m glad we picked up our intensity in the second half,” Seabreeze assistant coach Christine Goebel said. “We were not being proactive. We were being reactive and a step behind the entire first half. To see them come out and play the right way was huge and a difference maker.”
Seabreeze was scheduled to face Bishop Moore in the final on Feb 2. The Hornets are ranked first in the state in Class 4A with a 12-3-2 record. They advanced to the district final with an 8-0 blowout of Pine Ridge. Seabreeze (13-4) is ranked fifth in 4A and second in the region behind the Hornets.
“If we’re going to make it to where we want to go in the regionals final four, we have to go through Bishop Moore to do it,” Freidus said. “It will be good to see how we stack up against them. We watched them, and they look to be a good team, but we look to be a good team too.”