Dolphins get by Bay in regional quarters
BY JOSH JURNOVOY Special to the News

Photo courtesy of Monica Hoskins Andrew Davis sends the ball downfield in the Dolphins' 2-1 regional quarterfinal win against Bay.

The Gulf Breeze boys' soccer team beat the Panama City Bay Tornadoes 2-1 in Region 1-4A quarterfinal match to earn a trip to the regional semifinals.

Minutes after it was announced that the Gulf Breeze girls soccer team was going to the state semifinals Dolphin sophomore forward Cody Williams scored the game-winning goal for the Dolphins in the 65th minute.

Williams received the ball off a deflection, beat one defender and blasted a low shot to the left past the diving Bay Goalie, Chris Carr.

After the game, Williams described his thoughts after receiving the deflected pass saying, "This is it. This is my chance to win the game."

Gulf Breeze controlled the last 15 minutes of the game with solid defense and only allowed Bay to have one more shot on goal to earn the victory.

The Dolphins did not control the whole game. They faced a 1-0 deficit after allowing an own goal in the 16th minute. Bay midfielder Connor Williams shot a corner kick that deflected off several Dolphin defenders before going into the net.

Photo courtesy of Monica Hoskins Stuart Parks handles the ball Thursday against Bay High.

Gulf Breeze coach Bruce Savage thought the own goal was a result of the Dolphins' sluggish start saying, "We were playing nervous in the first half and not handling the ball well enough. That is probably why they scored on an own goal."

For the next 10 minutes, Bay defenders played tight defense and broke up several breakaways by Gulf Breeze leading scorer, Cory Gibson.

The Dolphins kept the pressure on and in the 26th minute Gibson tied the score at 1-1. Gibson dribbled the ball around Bay defenders for about half the length of the field and fired a shot from the right side of the box past Carr.

The next 40 minutes of the game were back and forth with each team exchanging scoring chances. In the 42nd minute, two Gulf Breeze defenders missed the ball while trying to clear it at the front of the box and that left the Bay forward with a clear shot which he fired right at Gulf Breeze goalie Johnny Miller who stopped the rocket shot.

Each team continued to play hard until Williams put the Dolphins on top for good.

After the game Savage said, "We did what we needed to do to get the win in the second half. At this point in the season it is all about advancing to the next round and I am thrilled we were able to do that."

The Dolphins' regional semifinal game will be against Jacksonville Stanton on Tuesday at home. Stanton edged Orange Park Ridgeview in penalty kicks to advance to the regional semifinals (played after the News' deadline).