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Second best
The Lady Dolphins defeated Fort Myers Cypress Lake 3-1 in a 4A state semifinal game Friday at Lockhart Stadium, but lost to Orlando Bishop Moore 2- 1 in the championship game on Saturday. GBHS finished the season 24-5-3. "I told them 'you played in the state championship game.'Win or lose, I was exceptionally proud of them," head coach Eric Miles said. "Back in December, I was saying 'it was us and Bishop Moore.' They were the team to beat this year. They're a good team." The loss marked the farthest a Lady Dolphin squad has gone in Miles' five years as head coach. It's also the first team since his first, in 2003, to make it to state. They lost to eventual champion Land O'Lakes in double overtime in a semifinal match. Orlando Bishop Moore 2,
The Lady Hornets, who scored only 52 goals in 20 regular season matches, scored two in a six-minute span to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish in Saturday's title game. The game was played in 75- 80 degree weather, something the Lady Dolphins hadn't been accustomed to. "I think it was more nerves that anything," Miles said. "These girls have won a lot of tournaments, but it's different when you're playing for your school and your community." Bishop Moore, who had eliminated two-time defending state champions St. Augustine Nease in the regional semifinals, set the tone early, making a run in the opening minute that Kristi Lee needed to get a foot on before a shot was launched. Kim Begley fired a shot from 20 yards out that was saved by Bishop Moore keeper Melissa Biber in the third minute. A pass from Jessica Majewski ahead to Maggie Rodgers was smothered by Biber a minute later.
In the next three minutes, Bishop Moore would have a cross knocked out of harm's way by Alyssa Smith and a corner kick that was won in the box and cleared by Lee. Bishop Moore's Diana DiMuro, who had only entered the match a minute earlier, scored the game's first goal in the 13th minute. The shot just outside the 18-yard box bounced off the right post and in for the 1-0 lead. The goal was only her second of the season. "You can't give teams that much space," Miles said. "Instead of us saying 'we're going to win every ball,' we were backing off." Five minutes later, Bishop Moore took a 2-0 lead. The Lady Hornets stole a ball near midfield as Jaclyn DiConstanzo ran down the side and sent a high arcing shot into the box. The ball bounced off of Cayla Platt and into the net.
Gulf Breeze had several flurries before the first half whistle. Majewski fired a shot in the 19th minute that was saved by Biber, while a cross from Platt toward Rodgers was corralled by Biber before Rodgers could get a foot on it. Kristen Barona's cross in the 36th minute was reeled in by Biber, who had seven saves in the game. The game was 2-0 Bishop Moore at the half. The Lady Dolphins had a few changes to start the second half. Kathy Franklin replaced Anne Preston in goal, while Bianca Takacs and Aubrey Curington were in for Platt and Haley Gross. "It was a speed matchup," Miles said. "When you're down two goals, you have to attack more. With Aubrey, with her big body, we needed more control in the midfield."
Majewski fell in the Bishop Moore box in the 51st minute, but no foul was called. She would score what would be the only Lady Dolphin goal three minutes later. Takacs threw the ball in to Rodgers, who sent a ball downfield to Majewski, who threaded a ball from a tough angle past Biber to cut the deficit in half. The goal lit a spark under the Lady Dolphins, who got a shot from Begley a minute later from 20 yards that sailed wide left. Ashley Schermerhorn sent a ball from the back up to a running Rodgers in the 60th minute, but Biber reeled it in before Rodgers could get to it. A cross from Rodgers three minutes later, intended for Begley, was poked away. Gulf Breeze's final scoring chance came with two minutes later, when Begley fired a shot into the outside of the net. "The second half, we came out and played well," Miles said.
GBHS had 32 goals in eight postseason matches. The win marked Bishop Moore's fifth state championship and first in eight years. The loss marked GBHS' second state runner up in school history, to go with back-to-back state titles in 2000 and 2001. Lady Dolphins 3, Fort Myers Cypress Lake 1 Gulf Breeze dominated the first half without scoring a goal. Things were different in the second half as they scored three goals in a 24-minute span to advance to Saturday's title game. "They did a good job of winning the ball in the midfield," Miles said. "We didn't have to clear out a lot of balls out of the back." Gulf Breeze took control of the match from the start, getting a shot on goal from Jessica Majewski in the opening minute of play. Across from Kim Begley missed the head of Alyssa Smith in the second minute.
Noelle Robles had a shot in the penalty area in the 10th minute, but the ball sailed over the crossbar. Cypress Lake was awarded a corner kick in the 12th minute, but Haley Gross won the kick and cleared it out of harm's way. Freshman Carly Loehr played some key minutes in the first half and almost had a goal herself. "People that came off the bench did an excellent job, especially Carly Loehr," Miles said. "She was able to make a couple of good runs." The Lady Panthers had three shots on goal in the first half, but none of them came near starting keeper Franklin. The defense of Ashley Schermerhorn, Brittany Pyle, Kristi Lee and Smith stepped in front of every advance they tried to make. Maggie Rodgers almost got into the scoring act in the 27th minute, but Cypress Lake keeper Melissa Allen came off her line and broke up the run.
Lindsey O'Brien had a run for the Lady Panthers in the final minutes of the half, but Pyle broke up the run. It was 0-0 at the half. "When you have adrenaline building up all day, you can wear yourself out," he said. "I told them it'd probably be 0-0 at the half. Once you get to this level, they're all going to be good. I told them 'let's wear them out in the second half.'" It didn't take long for that to happen.Gulf Breeze cracked the scoring column two minutes into the second half. Majewski was taken down in the box from behind on a corner kick the Lady Panthers failed to clear.Smith got the call and buried the kick into the lower right portion of the net. "That was huge," Miles said. "Cypress Lake wasn't able to recover after that." Lee's free kick from 45 yards out two minutes later required a ankle-length catch by Allen. Cypress Lake appeared to have taken down Majewski in the box in the 57th minute, but no PK was awarded. Another run by Majewski on a pass from Kristen Barona almost netted GBHS' second goal of the match, but Majewski was called for a foul.
Two minutes later, Robles took one in herself, settling a long pass from Smith and going near post on Allen to make it 3-0. Cypress Lake foiled the shutout bid in the 69th minute when Jessica Minor put away a pass from Amanda Buxton. "We'd like to have had a clean sheet, but better that it was 3-0 than 0-0," Miles said. |
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