The name on the back of their jerseys may have changed, but that’s done
nothing to diminish the talent level they possess. Four girls from last
year’s Nease state championship soccer team, transfers to their new campus,
Ponte Vedra, helped spark a Sharks 3-0 victory over the Lecanto Panthers in
the state tournament’s Sweet 16 round on Tuesday night.
From the onset it was clear that the Sharks (23-3-4) were the more
talented squad as they outplayed the relentless Panthers (19-4-2) at nearly
every position.
“They’re an elite program with a classy coach,” Lecanto head coach Kevin
Towne said. “That’s the bar that we want to reach and get over. If you’re
going to get bounced out of the state tournament you want to lose to a
better team. Tonight they were the better team.”
To Lecanto’s credit, however, they never quit. In spite of the fact that
they were out shot in the contest 42-0 the Lady Panthers were both tenacious
and diligent in their efforts to slow the Sharks high octane offense.
But in the end, Ponte Vedra’s missile attack was too much for Lecanto to
withstand. Ironically enough, of the Sharks’ 25 first-half shots on goal, it
was their softest strike, a dribbler off the foot of freshman midfielder
Femka Lang, that seemed to have eyes as it squirted its way past Panthers
goalie Emily Stanton in the game’s 32nd minute.
Fourteen minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Courtney
Jacquay’s header gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. And in the contest’s waning
minutes, Jessica Stephens iced the victory with Ponte Vedra’s third goal.
“We’re a young team that’s anchored by the experience of four girls from
last year’s (Nease) championship team. We’ve also got four girls that played
on the Nease JV team last year,” said Ponte Vedra’s head coach David
Silverberg, who won four state championships in his eight years as the Nease
head coach. “We passed and moved the ball well all night. Our defenders
played really solid. We kept the ball on our side of the field and really
controlled the pace of the game. Our girls never stopped pressing and it
finally paid off with a few goals.”
Despite the season-ending loss, Lecanto’s head coach was still able to
find a silver lining on which to build for next year.
“We played our hearts out tonight. We’re so young and we’ve accomplished
so much this season. We only have one senior and are loaded with a class of
very talented sophomores,” Towne concluded. “This loss tonight in no way
diminishes what we accomplished all season. I’m so proud of the effort our
girls gave tonight against an extremely talented opponent.”
Ponte Vedra will take its show back on the road to Eustis on Friday for
the regional championship game after Eustis kicked its way to a 2-1 victory
over Hudson on Tuesday night.
