JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three girls soccer teams and one boys squad are playing for state championships this week in DeLand. A look at those teams, how to watch the games and other important information to know.
Girls
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Class 7A championship
Bartram Trail (18-2) vs. Cypress Bay (8-0)
When: Friday, 1 p.m.
Where: Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand.
Watch it: Game is being webcast on Spectrum. Tickets are $9.99 and can be purchased here.
Road here: Bartram Trail d. Lake Mary, 5-1; d. Spruce Creek, 1-0; d. Oviedo, 2-1; d. Plant, 3-0; Cypress Bay d. Dr. Krop, 7-3; d. Gulf Coast, 4-1; d. Palmetto, 4-0; d. Stoneman Douglas, 2-1.
Glance: The third state championship game appearance for the Bears, who won it all last year for the first time with a 5-0 rout of Cypress Bay. Bartram is ranked No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps. Cypress Bay is No. 1. Defense has been a staple of these last two Bears teams. Bartram has given up just 13 goals this season (0.65 goals allowed per game), just about identical to last year’s number (16 in 25 games, 0.64 average). MF Grace Ivey has a team-best 17 goals, followed by MF Jordan Follenweider’s nine. GK Bailey Dean is a wall in the net. Bartram has won 13 straight games, with just two losses (2-1 games against St. Johns Country Day and Montverde).
Class 5A championship
Ponte Vedra (13-3-5) vs. Archbishop McCarthy (18-4-1)
When: Friday, 4 p.m.
Where: Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand.
Watch it: Game is being webcast on Spectrum. Tickets are $9.99 and can be purchased here.
Road here: Ponte Vedra d. Gainesville, 9-1; d. Daytona Beach Seabreeze, 1-0; d. Gulf Breeze, 2-0; d. Land O’ Lakes, 1-0; McCarthy d. Westland Hialeah, 10-0; d. Pembroke Pines Charter, 2-1; d. Bayside, 2-0; d. North Fort Myers, 1-0.
Glance: The Sharks have been as good as any public school in the area in reaching the final game. And Dave Silverberg is among the top coaches in area soccer history. He’s won six state championships (2002, ’05-06, ’08 at Nease, and 2009, ’12 at Ponte Vedra. His Sharks teams have also played for three others (2013, ’16, ’20). Last year’s game, a 2-0 loss, came against a McCarthy squad that they’ll see again this week in a search for redemption. MF Maggie Mace (11 goals, nine assists) is the top scorer for Ponte Vedra. MF Tamlyn Parkes and MF Ella Shapiro (both nine goals, 7 assists), and F Riley Rojahn (eight goals, five assists) lead a diverse and balanced offensive attack. But it has been defense that has been rock solid all season, especially down the finishing stretch. The Sharks have allowed just one goal during their seven-game unbeaten streak, and that came in a 9-1 mercy rule romp over Gainesville in the playoff opener.
Class 2A championship
St. Johns Country Day (17-0) vs. Canterbury (21-2-1)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand.
Watch it: Game is being webcast on Spectrum. Tickets are $9.99 and can be purchased here.
Road here: St. Johns CD d. Bishop McLaughlin, 8-0; d. St. Joseph, 9-1; d. Tallahassee Maclay, 5-0; d. Geneva, 8-0; Canterbury d. Marco Island Academy, 7-0; d. Evangelical Christian, 6-0; d. Shorecrest Prep, 3-2; d. Westminster Academy, 8-0.
Glance: The Spartans are in a league of their own under coach Mike Pickett. They’ve won nine state championships, the most by a team in state history. They enter this match on a 38-game winning streak and losing seems unlikely for the soccer dynasty. Another title would be their 13th, which puts St. Johns a step closer to tracking down Aquinas as the state leader (15). F Mai Sadler leads St. Johns in goal scoring (10 goals). MF Lauryn Mateo is tops in scoring (10 assists, eight goals). Goals are all well and good (a total of 27 Spartans have scored this season), but the backbone of this team is defense. St. Johns has allowed five goals all season. Five.
Boys
Class 2A state championship
St. Johns Country Day (16-2-1) vs. Canterbury (20-3-1)
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand.
Watch it: Game is being webcast on Spectrum. Tickets are $9.99 and can be purchased here.
Road here: St. Johns CD d. Bishop McLaughlin, 8-0; d. St. Joseph, 4-0; d. Tallahassee Maclay, 3-2 (PKs); d. St. Edward’s, 4-0; Canterbury d. Marco Island Academy, 8-0; d. Community School of Naples, 4-1; d. Bradenton Christian, 2-1; d. Westminster Academy, 3-1.
Glance: A soccer team at St. Johns Country Day shining in the postseason is nothing new. But the boys soccer team playing this late in the season is completely new. Take away success in the discontinued fall soccer series, St. Johns hasn’t ever had a season like this on the boys side. They have a winning streak of 13 games entering the final. They’ve been knocking on the door, though, and finally broke through after back-to-back heartbreaking losses in the regional final. PKs doomed the Spartans in 2019. Maclay edged St. Johns by a goal last year. But this season, the closest call came in a PK shootout win over Maclay. Could the first soccer state championship in the non-fall series for St. Johns’ boys program be next? F Jacob Graston (14 goals, eight assists), F John Linge (16 goals, 12 assists) and F Landon Brafford (14 goals, eight assists) lead a very balanced Spartans squad.